A New Happy Ending
by BOOGIEBEARLOVE
Summary: The Evil Queen Regina has won, she cast the dark curse and won. Until she feels the void. This is not her happy ending. She adopts a child, Emma Swan, A new happy ending? Swan Queen
1. Chapter 1

**The Dark Curse has been cast, Regina has won…**

It's been a year, a year since she has won, and a year since no one had tried to tarnish or taint her happy ending.

Her happy ending… She blinks into her feelings of void.

Why did she feel so empty? Everyone was at her command, she was Mayor.

The wolf girl was nothing but a harlot, her Grandmother a nobody, Gold? Out of her hair;

and Snow… Snow was a simple little teacher, and had no clue of whom or where her dear prince charming was.

She should feel nothing but bliss. This is was suppose to be her happy ending.

But then why… why did she feel so empty? Revenge was supposed to be sweet and fulfill her, but all she felt was repetition and void.

Loneliness…

Everyone worshiped her, or feared her…

There was no in between.

She had no…

She had no Daniel, no Mother, and no Father… just loneliness.

All she had was her revenge, but revenge was nothing if she had nothing.

She swayed her hips past the townspeople and away from their possible pity towards her current state, till she finally found an isolated bench near the town's park.

She angrily sat and crossed her legs, letting her mind be her company.

As she sat in her thoughts of loss and loneliness, her memories storm up a thought.

A child… a memory of a faceless child…

Her nemesis's child…

She took that from Snow… Snow took everything. She took Daniel. She took all the possibility she could ever have of conceiving her own.

After Daniel's death and her imprisonment of a marriage to the king, she instantly threw away any thoughts of a child. She could barely stand his hand on hers, let alone the nights they shared in his bed.

And after the night he took away the only thing she had left that was hers… she knew she could never carry Leopold's child. She would only see the king… the pig that stole her virginity and begged for more every night. The Pig that she was never meant to be with… the pig she was forced to be with.

But now, now that she is alone, alone and away from her mother, and those "heroes", all she could think of now was a child. A child she could call her own, and not let anyone take what was hers.

A child who would listen to her speak, someone who could see the real her, see her as anything but an Evil Queen or Mayor… but a human being, a human being in need of love, a love that she would never deny back.

Rumple…

He would know how…

How to get her new happy ending…

(Gold's Shop)

"New York, Dearie." He replies with impatience.

"You need to go to New York and find your new happy ending." He states, staff in hand.

"To get a child, my child?" She asks with caution and hope all in one.

He sternly walks to her and hands her a piece of paper, information and hope in his hands.

"It's a location, the location to your happy ending… an Orphanage where you will surely find it."

But before she can take it he takes it away and whispers in her ear.

"This one is on me."

She glares at him suspiciously.

"Why?" she glares harder.

"Let's just say I've put you through enough and that I know what it is like to have a child… No one should be denied that." He almost gently grabs her hand and places the paper in her grasps, his head facing down.

She doesn't say thank you, not a word.

How could she? After everything he made her do. No, she'd helped him long enough making him forget what horrible things he did in his past.

Besides, whatever memory's he thinks he has, will soon be gone. No one remembered their past, and that was torture enough for her so called teacher. He'd soon feel lost and be Mr. Gold… the town's pawnshop owner.

She turns around sharply and walks away… heels echoing in Gold's shop, not seeing his face turn up with a grin.

"Good luck Dearie."

**(New York, two weeks later.)**

"Regina Mills, Mayor of Storybrooke." The man in a suited tie smiles contently.

"So is this the child for you?" He says, placing the papers in front of her gently.

The baby stretches her soft gentle hand, reaching for Regina…

"Yes, I believe she is…" She whispers, grabbing the outstretched little hand into hers.

She feels that familiar warmth reach her chest... her darkened chest.

"Emma." She whispers.

"Yes, Mayor Mills… Emma Swan." He nods admiring the connection he sees.

"My happy ending…" she turns and smiles at him, reaching for the nearest pen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Storybrooke, our new home…**

Emma Swan, 1 year of age, blonde hair, fair skin, blush red chubby cheeks, and blue eyes that steal your breath away.

Regina inhales gently, blinking her eyes in disbelief.

"Emma Mills…" she whispers to the baby in her arms.

"Will you be my baby?" She asks sweetly, not expecting an answer from the barely year old child.

"Gahhhh," Emma lets out a loud gurgling sound, almost as if she was responding.

Regina's eyes instantly go wide, her eyes slightly getting watery in the process. She lets out an audible giggle, something she hasn't done in a very long time. Her ears ring with the sound of her own laughter, as she slowly leans closer to her beautiful rosy cheeked child.

"I'm Regina, I'm your momma." She presses a gentle finger on Emma's soft chubby cheeks.

The baby does what she did so naturally when Regina first held her in her arms, she reaches outward towards her, asking to be held, accepting her for who she was… her new mother.

"Oh Emma… my sweet Emma, Momma is here." She lifts her up kissing her cheeks gently and placing her on her hollow chest, a hollow chest that no longer feels quite as empty.

**(A few weeks later)**

She was ready to show baby Emma her new town. She's been slightly dreading this… having to introduce her child to those annoying townspeople, having to explain that the Mayor was now a mother too.

On the other hand, she was ecstatic… getting to experience going out with her child, having breakfast at Granny's, just the two of them, taking Emma to her most private and pivotal places… like her vault. No more loneliness, it was her and Emma now.

Granny's Diner, they were here. She unbuckles her daughter from the car seat, and gently lifts her to her arms, kissing her cheek lovingly.

"Mayor Mills?'' Ugh, it was her.

"Ms. Blanchard." Regina nods her head her way, holding her daughter a slight bit tighter, like it was her new secret to be kept.

"Who is this beautiful baby girl?" Snow smiles as big as when she was in the enchanted forest, with her memories intact.

She hated that grin… but at least it was a grin for her daughter. Emma deserved that.

Whoever her parents were, she could kill them now… leaving the poor baby, abandoning her. Emma deserved all the love this town had to offer… Although she selfishly wished it was from her alone.

But she couldn't do that.

That is what Corra did… locked her up, controlled her, never letting her live her life, never letting anyone love her back.

"This is Emma… my baby." Snows eyes instantly shoot out of her face.

"Mayor Mills… you're a mother?! When, how?" She sounded like a flapping pigeon.

Regina visibly rolls her eyes.

"If you must know, I adopted her a few days back… but I would appreciate it if we all call her my own. I don't want her ever knowing she isn't mine."

Regina states almost demanding.

"Off course Regina, I would never!" Snow states loudly.

"Well she is beautiful…" She reaches a hand out longingly towards Emma.

"Yes Ms, Blanchard, indeed she is." Regina swiftly moves past snow.

"Good day Ms. Blanchard." Snow shakes her head… dispelling her momentary trance towards the child.

"How strange." Mary Margaret states quietly.

She almost felt as if it were a dream… like a long lost memory.

**(Inside of Granny's Diner)**

As soon as Regina entered the diner silence surrounded her.

All eyes were on her and her teeny tiny in her arms.

She hated this part… the nosy stares from everyone who treated her like a damn monster.

Having to explain…

Emma chose the perfect time to cry… oh that cry. It made her chest ache and anticipate the moment when she would be the one to comfort her.

She quickly made her way to her favorite table, it was always unoccupied, thanks to the people who feared her… some of the perks.

She instantly pulled a warm bottle out of her purse, breastfeeding was not an option.

She gently presses the bottle into Emma's crying mouth… instantly silencing her and receiving a helping little hand grasping the bottle as well.

This was their first breakfast at Granny's.

Breastfeeding…

She lets her mouth form a wide smile… if she paid any attention to her surroundings; she'd see a couple of people surprised at her careless and loving expression.

Breastfeeding was no option, she obviously never conceived a child… there was nothing there for her to give Emma. That didn't stop Emma last night from nibbling on Regina's left nipple, right through her blouse.

It was a pleasant surprise and very endearing.

Her child wanted milk, and as she held her for sleep, Emma decided she was hungry instead.

This time Regina let out an audible giggle at the memory.

"Mayor Mills, how nice to see you smiling." It was the wolf girl, always trying to but in.

"Yes, dear… well I have a child now and there is no sense in frowning all day now is there?"

Regina replies frowning in the process.

"Haha, ok Mayor Mills, gotcha! But either way, congrats… you look happy."

Ruby grabs her pen and nods pridefully.

"Now what would you like today?" She asks sweetly.

"The usual dear." Regina nods, taking in the wolf girls words.

The change was already happening, even they could see it.

She looks down at Emma in her arms and instantly smiles once again.

You really are my happy ending she thinks.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Few Nights Later…**

"Sydney!" Regina yells through her phone, voice full of anticipation. She holds a crying Emma in one hand, phone in other.

"My Queen." Sydney's speaks his voice ready for his demand.

"Where are those papers I've asked for? I need to know why my child has been crying for 2 nights straight! I need to know who her birth parents were, find what could possibly be wrong here." she speaks through anger and tears.

"My Queen I have them in hand now."

Regina closes her eyes, ready for the information.

"Tell me is there any health issues I should be worried about?" she breathes in worriedly.

"No… In fact there is nothing on the child."

"What?!" Regina screams as hard as possible, not to disturb her child furthermore.

"The child…" he says, almost with a hint of disgust and bitterness in his voice, that Regina was to unfocused to catch, or else he would surely be punished.

"The child was abandoned most likely at birth, on the side of the road."

"My baby was what?!" Regina's eyes instantly open in shock, slightly red from the anger that was already rising.

"Here is the interesting part my Queen, you might want to sit down for this part." She could sense a smile forming in his voice, and this time she catches it.

"She was left on the side of the road in Main… right outside of Storybrooke."

That's when it hit her. It hit her hard. Gold… That evil little Imp. The reason he was so eager to help her cast this curse, him being giving and kind that day… He knew. This child… this person… was SNOW'S CHILD! She was... she was the Savior.

"My Queen?" Sydney asks through the silent line.

Nothing.

He instantly realizes it was pointless to ask, as soon as he hears the dead dial tone. He smirks in delight… maybe now his Queen would go back to paying attention to him. That baby… that child was just a pointless distraction, and she was in the way of his price.

**(Gold's Shop)**

"You Imp! You knew!" She screams in his face, Emma stirring in the process… her face full of dry tears.

"To what do I owe the pleasure Mayor Mills at such late hours of the night?" He smiles wickedly.

"This baby, this child… she was found outside of Storybrooke 1 year ago!" She looks at him accusingly.

"Annd?" He blinks in bewilderment and impatience.

"Emma Swan…" She whispers closer to him.

"Is… she belongs to Snow." she whispers frustrated, tears sliding down her face.

That does it… that triggers a memory, a lost memory long forgotten in Gold's mind. Unbeknownst to Regina, Gold had no recollection of their deal or previous life. He just had the perks and the knowledge of many things. Now he understood, he understood why he felt sudden joy when he found this child's name at that adoption agency… She was the savior. She would break this curse and that was his chance at finding Baelfire.

That's when he snaps out of his new regained thoughts and decides to play along.

"Dearie, I can tell you this… I do not know what you are speaking of! But… I have a solution to the problem in hand." He knew she wouldn't give up this child now. She was obviously entranced by the child. She wasn't going to get rid of her now.

"What are you talking about? What am I suppose to do?! This, this is a potential problem for me you idiot!" Emma instantly begins to cry on cue.

"Oh no, no… honey…shh it's okay." She cradles her closer.

"Mama is here, we'll figure out what is wrong my love." She shoots Rumple a hateful glare.

"You obviously aren't getting rid of the child, so why complain? She isn't anybody's but yours now… you can shape her up to your liking Mayor Mills… So I see no problems here."

Regina looks down almost shamefully; she bites her lip in her obvious loss against the dark one.

"The least you can do is help me figure out what is wrong with her? She's been crying for two days nonstop! She could be sick, Snow and Charming could have had some disgusting disease!"

"Have you ever wished to speak to a baby? To read their thoughts?" he asks almost playfully.

He feels a familiar giggle rise in his chest. Oh how he's missed the thought of making potions and deals.

"What are you saying?" She squints her eye holding a crying Emma in her protective arms.

"We will see what Emma is thinking, what is bothering her exactly." He turns round behind his display case and checks inside a box.

"Ah, here it is…" He hums contently.

"How can I trust what you are saying? You lied to me about.. about." She couldn't even say it.

"Well she is mine now, so it doesn't matter!" she closes her eyes rubbing Emma's little back.

"This one dearie is truly on the house… I can put it on Baelfire." Regina lets out an audible gasp.

She hasn't heard that name escape his lips in a very long time.

"Do it." She says…turning Emma around gently.

"Just put your finger inside the potion dear and place it on your lips… kiss her head and you will hear and feel what she is feeling." He holds the potion out for her.

She gently caresses the pink warm liquid on her lips and quickly turns to Emma's blonde locked gentle head, she lets her lips linger on her baby… as soon as she parts she feels it… she knows.

"Oh my..." She almost giggles.

"All she wanted… how could I not know?" She turns Emma around, her eyes connected directly with Emma's sparkling ones.

"Oh Emma…" She kisses her once more… instantly soothing her child.

She turns to Rumple and nods approvingly with one last remark.

"Do not tell anyone who she is! Or so help me… I will find a way to destroy you."

She turns and leaves in a hurry.

"Oh trust me dearie, I won't… it will all unfold on its very own."

**(Back at the mansion)**

After feeding Emma a warm bottle and several warm kisses to her cheeks, she makes her way to her queen sized bed and gently lays Emma down. She positions her soft feather pillows around her for protection and quickly positions herself next to her, holding Emma's delicate little fingers in her hand.

She pulls her sheets on top of herself and Emma, ready for bed. They lay their peacefully next to one another, the queen and her little princess.

"All you wanted… all you wanted was to sleep by my side." She whispers to a now peaceful sleeping Emma.

Regina lays her head on the soft pillow and smiles contently.

"I promise, no more crib for you my love. It's just you and I." She whispers drifting off in the warmest of dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

**6 years have gone by… **

Baby Emma was no longer a baby; she was a 7 year old child. She was Regina's little princess. She was beautiful, Kind hearted, giving, and very brave, she was Regina's little knight, and that may have been her favorite thought.

She can remember a time where she may have expressed her frustration over Ms. Blanchard and having to enroll her child in school; Ms. Blanchard would be her teacher. She was not having it… She hit the steering wheel of the car, receiving a loud squeal from the back seat.

"What's wrong Momma?" Emma asked, not scared but worried.

Regina sighs deeply and turns to her child. "Nothing baby, I'm really sorry."

"Did someone do something bad to you momma? Because last time you got this mad it was because Mr. Gold hurt you, and you hit the car too." Emma spoke about a couple of months ago, when Gold refused to help Regina with a possible spell to help the curse stop itself from breaking.

"Oh no baby, I just… I just don't want you to have Ms. Blanchard when you start school. She and Mommy don't really get along." Regina tried not to sound so venomous.

"Do you need me to protect you momma? I can do it!" Regina let out a soft chuckle, her heart warming up in the process.

"No, no baby… I just want it to be you and me, no Mary Margaret." Regina looked away emotionally, already feeling Snow ripping away her happy ending.

She let a few tears out and Emma instantly fussed in her seat, attempting to take off her safety belt and making her way to her mother.

"Momma… "Emma whispered, she had quickly escaped her seat and already had her small hand on Regina's face.

"I promise Momma, when I grow up, you won't cry anymore… I will be your knight!"

Regina smiled widely and grabbed her child's hand.

"Yes my love, you will."

…**.**

That was one of Regina's fondest memories of Emma. No one… not even her father defended her, even with cause or reason. And Emma, Emma just knew… she knew Regina was upset and instantly wanted to protect her… Just like Regina would always protect Emma. She truly was her little knight.

…**..**

Regina quickly made her way to Dr. Hopper's office for a much needed session. She'd just dropped off Emma at school, to a teacher who was thankfully not Snow. She'd been seeing Dr. Hopper on a number of occasions, sure the cricket may have helped the charmings, but in this town she found his words extremely helpful. And after sending Sydney away a couple of years back, she really needed a person to confide in.

Dr. Hopper fit that description and thankfully knew nothing of their past, just her and her parenting struggles. And also, Dr. Hopper loved Emma very much. Sydney on the other hand had instantly hated Emma, he envied her, and she was not having it, no matter how good of a mirror he was.

"Regina, how nice to see you." Dr. Hopper smiled kindly.

"Let's get to the point Dr. Hopper, Emma is 7 now and she still shares a bed with her mother." Regina looks down with a hint of embarrassment.

"Would you like to sit Regina?" Dr. Hopper pulls the chair out for her.

She sighs deeply and makes her way to the comforting chair.

"So tell me again Regina, what is the problem?"

"I told you Archie! Emma, she's a 7 year old, she's already in school, she has friends already and… and I don't think it's okay for a 7 year old to sleep with her mother still… what happens when she is 12, 14,16?!"

"I see." Dr. Hopper replies nodding his head.

"And the worst part of this is, I've tried, I've tried to get her to decorate her own room, get her favorite bed sheets, and tell her she's a big girl… But all that she got from that was pain. She literally ran away from me and hid in the bathroom crying that I didn't love her."

She looks down again.

"She didn't come out till I promised she could sleep with me."

"And how do you feel about it Regina? Emma clearly hates it, but you? Why the sudden worry?"

"It isn't normal Archie, I… I want her to have a good life, I want her to have a social life… she can't do that when she can't even sleep without her mother. What if the other kids find out? I don't want them making fun of her."

She looks back up, eyes tired with stress.

"Well Regina… she clearly is very attached to you. And you clearly do not want to hurt your child's feelings. But I'm afraid that what you need to do is be the mother."

"What do you mean Archie?" Regina instantly squints her eyes with confusion.

"You have to show your authority, let her know you are the mother and you know best… it may hurt, but that is what part of being a mother is." He says sympathetically.

"I see…" Regina grabs her aching chest through her silk shirt.

"Thank you Dr. Hopper."

**(Later That Day, Night Time.)**

"But Momma I can't!" Emma screams with her tears already falling.

"My love, yes you can." Regina leans onto her knee and gently grabs Emma's shoulders.

"But Momma, it hurts." Emma points to her chest, her small finger painfully pressing harder.

"Emma STOP IT!" Emma instantly hushes down, eyes wide.

Regina has never used this tone with her, and it kills her but she knows she must.

"Listen young lady, you are growing up into a big girl now, you cannot sleep with Momma anymore, and that's final Emma Mills!"

Emma instantly runs into her room in tears, her room that she's avoided for 5 years, and closes the door.

Regina quickly runs to the door but forcefully stops herself. She needs to show authority… she breathes in and decides to leave Emma alone, to cry it out… she needs to understand.

Regina turns away slowly, making her way to her own individual room… yes, individual, just hers… hers alone.

As she lays herself on her soft sheets, she blinks away her tears… trying to hold it together.

She presses a strong slender finger on her chest… feeling that ghost of a void.

**(Next Morning)**

Regina finds Emma in her room sound asleep. She did it… Emma was now asleep in her own room.

She makes her way to her little knight and presses a soft kiss on Emma's forehead.

"Emma, wake up." She whispers in her ear.

"Momma?" Emma rubs her eyes to wake.

"It's time for school honey."

"Oh… yeah." Emma blinks, her head down.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Regina encourages a smile.

"I… I promise to be brave and strong Momma, I'll show you that I am still your knight. I will sleep here."

Emma sniffs… her eyes already watery.

"Oh my little knight, you truly are brave." She kisses Emma rewardingly.

Emma's eyes go wide, her smile instantly replacing her frown.

"Now let's go make some pancakes!" Regina pulls Emma's blankets away smiling proudly.

"Yay!" Emma squeals jumping from her bed to her mother's arms.

Regina squeezes tight.

"Now let's see who gets to the kitchen first!" Emma quickly lets go and runs off, her laughter filling the house once again, the void gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**5 years gone by…**

Emma sat quietly, head buried in a book. She promised her mother she'd be brave, but that didn't mean it hurt Emma any less. She wrote and wrote, that was the only time she could show her emotions… on paper.

She sat in her school's library, the only place she felt safe enough to write her thoughts.

Her mother never found out… that night Emma ran into her room 5 years back.

Emma searched her room that night, in tears and frustration. She never did explore it. After a few minutes of searching she found a notebook, a journal, her now Diary.

She scribbled and wrote until her tears stopped. When she looked at the pages all she saw was release.

She's confided in her diary ever since. She is now 12 years old and a much better writer. It meant she could write all her secrets and thoughts, thoughts that her Momma would never understand. That is why, that is why she always sits in here… the library. It was her safe haven, other than her room. That was about the only thing she liked about her room… the safety.

"Emma?" Her head shoots up, her writing interrupted.

"Mary Margaret!" Emma quickly stands, her notebook quickly put away in her bag.

"Emma what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in lunch with the other kids?" Mary Margaret asks.

Mary Margaret had become a close acquaintance of Emma's. She wasn't her teacher, her mother made sure of that, and she could never call her a friend, she couldn't bear to see her mother's face if she was. She doesn't know what Mary Margaret did to her mother, but she knows her mother goes through great lengths to keep them apart.

Acquaintance's, that's all they would be.

Mary Margaret had approached her first; she would catch Emma writing, hiding somewhere in the school grounds, always to herself.

Mary Margaret seemed to care, like she was drawn to this child by nature. And Emma was kind at heart; she didn't dare ignore her… Emma had never even heard Mary Margaret mention her mother to her, so she felt it was okay to speak to her.

Her mother doesn't know… but Mary Margaret is the reason why she wrote so well at 12. Every so often during lunch, Mary M would look for her and give her a few tips and lessons on writing, giving her books to borrow and learn from. She was very thankful for this, and her mother was all smiles when she realized just how wonderful Emma's vocabulary and grammar was by age 10.

"I see you were writing in that book of yours again." Mary Margaret smiles proudly. She almost seemed like a proud mother. But that was something no one could replace. No one was like her mother. Her mother was…

She quickly blinks and shakes her head; she wasn't going to finish that thought.

"I've had this journal forever Mary M, I could never just stop." Emma responds face looking down.

Mary Margaret nods knowingly.

"Emma…" she takes a few steps closer.

"Listen, I know you love to write and read… I found this last night and instantly thought of you."

That's when Emma notices it; Mary Margaret had it in her hands when she came in… a book, a big one.

"I see you everyday Emma, everyday you are writing, and I see it… sadness." Mary Margaret looks down sadly.

"You are to young Emma, to feel such things… listen I know your mother, she can be a handful but I'm sure she loves you very…" Mary Margaret is instantly cut off.

"Ms. Blanchard, my mother loves me very much… I'd appreciate it if you didn't assume."

That's when Mary Margaret sees it… the Mayor in her. She is definitely Regina's kid.

She thought wrong; all these years she's seen Emma… a kind and gentle girl… but a gleam of sadness in her eyes. She always assumed it was the adopted child syndrome… but if Mary Margaret recalls, Emma shouldn't know that fact.

All she wanted though, all Mary Margaret wanted… was for this child to be happy, like she wanted all her kids to be. Also, she felt it too… the loneliness, she always wondered why Emma had that same look Mary Margaret had herself… like they were missing something.

One day she will find out why… why this child had this look in her eyes. But for now, all she could offer was hope… hope for whatever it was that Emma wanted.

"I'm sorry, Emma that was not my intention, Mayor Mills is an amazing mother I'm sure."

"She is." Emma smiles lovingly.

"So let me make it up, this book… Once Upon A Time is filled with fairy tales, dreams, and hope." Mary Margaret places it in Emma's hands.

"I want you to have it Emma… I also want you to have hope, that whatever it is you want… you will have." Emma's eyes sparkle.

She instantly felt her fingers warm up, like they were on fire, a good fire. This book, this book was going to be an adventure.

"Thank you Mary M." Emma smiles genuinely, that smile Mary Margret felt in her chest.

"You are welcome Emma… I have to go now, I hope you enjoy it."

Mary Margaret pats Emma's shoulder and walks away.

**(2 weeks later)**

Her mom was going on a date… a date! Emma ran her hands through her long golden locks, the wavy ends tangling in her fingers.

Graham was back in town and her mother was going out tonight.

Sometimes Emma felt anger… she loved her mother so much, but as she grew, she felt this anger, why had her mother made her leave her room, their room. Why did her mother have to go on this date? With Graham! Why didn't she tell Emma? Did her mom not care how Emma felt or what Emma thought?

"Regina, my queen." She could hear Graham come into their home, THEIR home.

My queen? Emma's eyes instantly go from wide to serious. Why was the Sheriff calling her mother a queen? Emma… Emma was her knight!

"Sheriff, I'm glad you could make it… shall we go?" Regina nods almost demanding.

"Off course!" Graham grabs her arm into his as they make their way out of the mansion.

"I'll be back soon honey, Granny is in the kitchen making you your favorite, bear claws!" Regina screams to the top of the stairs.

"Thanks Mom!" Emma screams down, a hint of pain in her chest as she realizes she can't stop this.

As soon as the door shuts Emma runs to her room and shuts her door, she needed to write.

**(The date)**

Granny had become her most trusted sitter… she realized hating everyone was not going to help her raise her child. At least not in a safe environment she wanted her to be. So she made some selections, Granny being one of them. Not only could Granny cook, she could fight, and that was important for Regina... especially now.

…

Sydney was back.

Sydney was back and he was furious.

This was not a date, she had to tell Emma this because of reasons… she knew Emma was a curious child and she couldn't let her suspect anything. Especially with the current situation, Emma would go crazy and try to protect Regina, probably getting them both caught in the fire.

Graham and her needed to talk. They needed a plan.

Sydney had called her phone, how he escaped his prison? She had no idea. But he was furious… and mad, he made threats. Threats not only to her, but to her daughter, she needed protection, and without her magic, she needed Graham. She was going to kill Sydney; they just needed to find him first.

She thought back to the call she got not long ago… chills making their way to her skin.

…

_My Queen, how lovely to hear your voice… soon I will be hearing those lovely screams of yours, and that child of yours? That child who took you away from me, is dead… you lock me up and torture me…the only person who truly loved you… good luck sleeping alone at night, soon, you'll be all mine." _

…_.._

She grabs Graham's arm, her memory scaring her.

"You have to find him Graham, and kill him." She tightens his arm further.

"Yes Regina, It'll start my hunt tonight, I'll protect you and Emma." He pats her shoulder and makes his way.

…_._

"Granny?" Emma speaks, halfway done with her bear claw.

"Yes child?" Granny smiles affectionately.

"I want to be Sheriff when I grow up." Emma says seriously, Bear claw in hand.

"What makes you say that Emma?" Granny smiles with curiosity.

"I don't like Graham, and.. and… I want to protect Storybrooke from all the bad guys… and I want to protect my Mom." She swallows a piece roughly.

"Well darling, I see nothing wrong with that… but you have nothing to fear, Graham is a good man, he's a very good friend of your mothers and you know Regina loves you most, she would never be with someone she does not trust with you."

Emma just looks down, frustration present.

"I guess." She whispers.

"I'm done Granny." Emma hands Granny the plate, she couldn't even finish the bear claw.

**(Later that night)**

"Emma honey…" Regina knocks on Emma's door.

"Come in!" Emma is already in bed, journal hidden under her blankets.

"I'm back honey, Granny just left, did you have fun?" Regina asks, sitting on her bed.

"Yeah, you know Granny makes the best bear claws…" Emma responds looking down.

"Are you alright Emma? Regina's asks, her eyes filled with concern.

"Yes Mom, I'm okay…" Emma lies through her teeth. She wanted to tell her mother that she was upset… and, and angry for going out with Graham… but she had no good reason to be, so she decided to stay quiet.

Regina grabs Emma's hand in her own and kisses it softly, making Emma's cheek as rosy as when she first laid eyes on her.

"Mom, I'm really sleepy…" Emma gulps with nerves.

"Okay honey, if you need to talk about anything… I'm in the other room okay."

"Okay Mom, I , I love you." Emma yawns, feigning sleep.

"Me too my little knight." Regina says, leaning in to kiss Emma's forehead goodnight.

"I'm not little anymore Mom." Emma grunts childishly, making Regina laugh a little to herself.

"Alright, my big strong little knight." Regina giggles out loud, receiving a funny glare from Emma.

"Alright, alright, go to sleep baby, I was just kidding, I love you okay?" Emma can't help but smile.

Regina makes her way out, closing Emma's door, still having Sydney in the back of her mind.

"Night, my queen…" Emma whispers, Regina not hearing a word.

**Author's note: This is Swan Queen.**


	6. Chapter 6

**She couldn't write this…**

Emma knew this was something she could never write down in her journal. She'd written things she couldn't share with anyone before, especially her mom, but this… this felt wrong, wrong and good, good and evil.

A few weeks after her mother's date with the sheriff, all of Emma's worst fears and thoughts had been released.

Things she had written about since her mother forced her to separate herself from her bedroom. Things she kept hidden because she did not know how to express herself to her mother, without sounding like a coward. All she wanted was for her mother to be proud of her. She always wanted to be a true example of a knight… and her expressing her thoughts, her weird, needy and cowardly thoughts would change that.

But this… she never wrote anything like this. Her body had not gone through something like this, and she felt ashamed. Worse, she did not feel like her mother's protector, or a knight.

All her mother ever did was show her warmth and love. Regina was Emma's home, Emma's kingdom. Ever since she could remember she felt so attached, like the sticky glue in school. She could never remove it from her hands… she could never remove her heart, it belonged to her mother.

She, she felt things that she wondered if her mother ever felt back, things that she's only ever read in books. The thing is… those things were all okay to her, no one could ever tell her not to feel what she had written down, because she undeniably felt them.

But this… this was something else, something new, and she feared it. Not because of what it made her feel… but what her mother would do if she found out, she'd hate her.

**(Earlier that week)**

After Graham dropped off her mother a second time that week, she felt a burning sensation, was it anger? What was it? Emma wondered.

She felt the sudden need to be her mother's shadow, even more so then usual.

She felt the need to keep her eyes on Regina… on HER Queen. Ever since she heard the Sheriff call her mother this… she never wanted to hear it from anybody else's mouth again… just her own. She didn't know why... But it felt right.

The morning after her mother and the sheriffs date, she felt the need she felt as a child. To be in her mother's arms, in her bed, just the two of them.

She quickly and quietly made her way down the hall and into her mother's room, thankful that her mother never locked any rooms in this house.

She made her way into the barely lit room, dawn barely making its way into Storybrooke.

She tip toed into the sheets, ready to find the warmth she'd been writing about for years. But she was met my nothingness, a ball of sheets.

"Mom?" She wasn't in her bed.

Worry hit her chest as she ran to her mother's bathroom, where was she?

As soon as she stepped in, her thoughts were obliterated and replaced with… with…

"Emma!" Regina squealed, her mother stood there clothless and wet.

"Oh honey, you scared me!" She smiled relieved, hand in chest.

Emma's eyes were wide. She could feel her throat tighten, the air being knocked out of her. Her mother… her mother was beautiful, she couldn't look away… her palms began to sweat and her knees began to wobble. What was this? She swallowed thickly, her cheeks beginning to redden like before. This again? Why was her heart racing? It never happened before? Yet again, she hadn't seen her mother like this since she was 5. She never knew someone could be this enchanting. It reminded her of the Queen's and Goddess's she'd read of.

"Emma!" her mother says loudly, snapping her out of her dreadful thoughts of her own mother.

Her mother coughs awkwardly.

"Honey what are you doing in here? Is everything okay? I called your name more than once." Regina quickly took a step back, reaching for a towel, covering herself from her daughter.

"You weren't in the room, I was worried about you." Emma drifts off; embarrassed that her mother might have noticed her red cheeks and quick heart beat.

"Well I'm here honey, I'm okay… I just couldn't sleep." She walks towards Emma, placing her soft and safe hands on her smaller shoulders.

"Emma, did you need something sweetheart?" Regina whispers, wondering why Emma was in her room so early in the first place.

"Oh… I don't know. I just… I just wanted to come lay with you." Emma swallows nervously, she felt weak again.

"Oh honey, you are always welcome my love… how about this weekend you and I have a sleepover, Just the two of us?" Regina smiled widely, one of Emma's favorite smiles.

"Deal…" Emma's eyes instantly sparkle.

Regina leans down and kisses her temple softly.

"Okay mom, gonna go to bed now! I'm sooo sleepy." Emma quickly runs out the room and straight to hers. She needed to think… write.

"Okay darling..." Regina's eyebrow arches in question.

…

This was Emma's dilemma, the dilemma she is still contemplating on writing. As soon as she ran back into her room that night she grabbed her pen and paused… the fear hit her, hitting her 12 year old face. She was 12… she was a girl… her mother was… her mother… she couldn't write this chapter in her journals.

She decided… she wasn't going to risk her mother finding this out. It's bad enough what she wrote before... but this, this was surely worse. It had to be…. She felt her chest tighten, almost as when she was a 7 year old being told she couldn't lie with her mother anymore.

**(Later that week)**

Night time had come again, and so had Regina's fear. Sydney had not been found. Graham searched every day and night, yet nothing. Every day she had the worry behind her mind, she could barely let Emma out of her sight. She'd been waking up at early hours just to keep guard… no one was hurting her daughter.

She'd preferred Leopold's disgusting hands on her over somebody laying a hand on her Emma, anytime.

She had tucked in Emma, waiting an hour or so after she was certain Emma was a sleep.

She lay on her bed, ready to temporarily dream away this nightmare and rest as much as possible. Besides… this night Graham was parked outside the mansion, she could sleep a little better tonight.

…

**Things weren't that simple…**

Sydney was here… he somehow managed to get passed Graham, and he was here, on top of her, tearing her sleeping gown open, his hand a firm grip on her neck.

He was going to rape her... and Emma, Emma was in the other room. Her eyes already wide grow wider… Emma! She pushes harder against Sydney, receiving a hard punch across her face. She needed to protect Emma… her screams become louder, desperation taking over.

"Shhhh, quiet my Queen… you are mine now." He takes out duck tape wrapping it around Regina's swollen lips.

"You will wake the child, you don't want that now do you?" He smiles wickedly, leaning down and licking her tear stained cheek.

He digs in his bag and takes out a thick rope… he's going to tie her… he's going to rape her.

Regina squeezes her eyes shut… she needed her magic, she needed her magic…

Sydney's fun had begun…

**(Emma's Room)**

Emma's eyes shot open, her chest aching tremendously. She didn't understand? Something was wrong?

That's when she heard it… her mother's scream. Emma's heart was instantly swallowed, fear and worry now present.

"Mom?" Emma whispers into her darkened room.

Thud, thud, thud… Emma could here objects being thrown from a distance.

Something was wrong; someone was in her mother's room…

What if? What if? What if it was Graham? Emma's heart clenched roughly… her mother would never!

Something was wrong…

Emma's eyes turn to anger, I am her knight… Her feet make their way to her nearby "sword" her baseball bat she always kept in her room.

Her instincts take over as she quickly tip toes to her mother's room, the door already slightly open.

Emma peaks in…

What she sees… what she sees makes her go red, tears in her eyes.

Her mother tied up, her mother's gown torn open, eyes shut in pain, blood on her face, and… and a man she doesn't know forcefully in between her mother's legs, his head buried in her most private place.

He was… he was hurting her!

Her teeth grit and her hands clenched…

That's when she felt it… a light in her chest coming out with a loud roaring sound, a light that went through her hands and straight to the man attacking her queen.

His body instantly pushed away and out the window, his body breaking the glass.

Emma had no time to take in the magic she never knew she had or existed… because she was already by her mother's side, her slightly smaller arms wrapping around her.

She grabs the tip of the tape and gently peels it away from her mother's bloody lip.

"I'm here…" Emma whispers… tears covering her face.

"Emma….you… Oh Emma…" Regina couldn't hold it in; she cries… her face in Emma's chest.

Regina shuts her eyes tightly… Emma was okay… Emma was her savior.


	7. Chapter 7

**Emma saved her…**

Emma saved them both, and… she has magic. Emma was only 12, and she somehow released her magic in this magic less town; she truly was the Savior.

"Oh Emma…" Regina thought out loud.

She had seen too much… It was bad enough having that monster violate and beat her, but her child had seen it with her own eyes, something she never wished upon her.

She had to talk to Emma… even in pain and a state of trauma, Emma would always come first.

Her pain and her trauma, how could this happen to her again?

First Leopold, and now, now that monster of a mirror… Sydney. If only she had her magic, she would have killed him as soon as he stepped foot in her presence… and, and would have saved the pain her body was currently in. And Emma… she could have saved her child's mind from something she should have never seen.

"Regina." She feels a hand on her shoulder. Yes indeed, and to makes things worse Dr. Whale, Victor… was the one treating her.

The man who if knowing who she was would surely let her die, murder her instead. She couldn't handle it… she couldn't handle feeling a man's hands on her right now; especially someone she knew despised her.

"Please Dr. Whale, can you not pat my shoulder right now…" Regina sent her infamous glare, one this town was far too familiar with in the past. Before Emma that is.

He instantly swaps his hand away, in concern and fear.

"You've been through a lot tonight Regina, it is perfectly normal to feel the way you do." He looks at her sympathetically.

"As for your results…" He lifts the pad with paper work at his view.

"Since there was no penetration involved, you are completely fine… other than a couple of bruises and scrapes, you will heal." He puts his pad away and smiles warmly.

"Emma's outside… she wasn't allowed in here, for age reasons, but she's been asking about you and pleading with the nurses to let her in."

"Oh Emma…" Regina's eyes instantly soften, her eyes becoming watery.

"Regina, promise me you'll go see Dr. Hopper, its necessary and part of your recovery." She inhales stressfully… she had no one when Leopold did the things he did… when her mother abused her.

What was the difference now? She would deal with it… she survived before. Besides, she had Emma now. She had to be strong.

"I will do that Dr. Whale." Regina lies through her lips.

**(Waiting room) **

As soon as Regina made her way in the room, she was met by a teary eyed Emma running into her arms.

"Mom!" Regina was pushed back into a tight embrace, almost falling in the process.

"Emma." Regina whispered, a smile forming on her bruised face.

"Oh mom, I'm so sorry." Emma's tears began to fall, her voice hoarse.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry I didn't get there sooner… I saw what, I saw…" Emma couldn't finish the sentence, because anger, dread and other things filled her mind. She could feel the sensations she felt before she blasted that imp away.

"Shhh, baby it's okay, it's okay… I will be okay." Regina presses a kiss on her head.

Regina looks ahead, Granny and Ruby were there as well… to look after Emma. They had tears? They were worried about her, about the Evil Queen?

She carefully leaned into Emma's ear, looking up to make sure Granny and Ruby could not hear.

Pressing her lips against Emma's ear she whispers…

"I'm okay thanks to you my love, thanks to your magic." Emma's eyes go wide.

She had so many thoughts about this dreadful night… the fear of her mother being scared of her being one of them. But her queen smiled softly at her, not scared… but proud?

"I… I love you mom." Emma smiles contently.

Regina slowly leans back up, her hips feeling an instant pain from the attack. She lets out an audible cry.

"Mom?! Are you okay?!" Emma makes her way next to her mother, wrapping an arm around her back.

"Regina?" Ruby and Granny make their way towards the Mayor.

Regina smiles politely, and almost nervously… they knew what happened, she felt ashamed and embarrassed. People would think she was weak… a weak Mayor. She self consciously wrapped her arms around herself.

"Regina, we're glad you're okay… we were worried... What Sydney did, we…"

"It's alright." Regina stops them.

"He's dead now." Emma's eyes look down.

"He deserved it if you ask me." Granny spits out lending Regina a hand.

"Now, let's get you to the car child." Granny kindly smiles, they all walk Regina protectively to her car.

**(3 nights have gone by) **

She could hear her mother cry. When she thought no one could hear her… Emma would stand by her room's door and listen.

She felt a sudden need to protect her, keep an eye on her. She would never let it happen again… she would never let anyone lay a hand on her, put their hands on her, on her….

Her eyes shut tightly, the flashback hitting her mind.

She could see that man's head and mouth devouring her mother… her mother's most special part.

She's tried to forget it… but the image kept popping in her head. She felt pressure in her chest.

How would she get rid of this feeling… this feeling of uselessness?

She wanted to soothe her mother… she wanted to take the pain away. If Emma got these flashbacks, what was her mother seeing? She wanted to make a new memory for her. She wanted too…

She instantly silenced her thoughts… she could hear her mother's cries begin again. She leaned her head closer, practically making herself part of the closed door.

She reaches a hand and rubs the door, imagining her mother's soft black hair.

After a couple of minutes of sitting outside her door, tears on her own face, she no longer heard her mother cry. Sometimes it would worry her… she wanted to be in that room with her, make sure no one was inside… But every time she'd check on her, she had just cried herself to sleep. She'd grab the blankets and pull them higher, under her chin. Just like her mother would tuck her in before.

It was time to go in and check…

This time, this time was different…

Emma's eyes went wide, her throat swallowing her surprise.

Her mother lay in bed, asleep, tears noticeable on her pale cheeks.

But this time… this time… her legs were uncovered, her thighs and nightgown in view.

It hit's her again… that man on top of her mother, her queen!

She rubs her eyes hard trying to get rid of this image… but she can't, she can't. She wants to make her mother better; she wants to make her forget. So she does the first thing her body tells her to, the unthinkable…

Something inside her pulls her forward, her legs hitting the end of the bed.

She slowly crawls into the sheets, closer to her mother's thighs, her heart beating through her chest.

This was the position Sydney was in… this was the memory she would erase and make new. She would make her mother better…

She gently opens her mother's long legs and pushes her way in between, feeling the warmth hug her tightly...

That's when she sees it… the marks, the bruises, the memory that he left behind.

Her mother's most precious part… it looked so soft and pink. Just the way it did when she found him… his lips on her.

She could smell a scent, a scent that made her feel a weird sensation… her heart raced.

All she cared about, all she wanted was to make her forget. She wanted to forget… she wanted to be good memories for her… erase that man.

She couldn't take it, she could no longer hold it in… her mouth instantly connects to her mother's soft and pleasantly warm vagina.

The place she would fix.

She kisses in between the soft folds and hums into her mother's thighs. She would kiss these bruises away.

She feels her mother begin to wake, but she doesn't stop… she just lifts the blankets on top of herself, as if to hide herself.

"Mmm." Regina groans lightly, her body stirring itself awake.

Emma kisses gentler and slower. She feels her chest tighten; she's ready to say it.

"What? What is?" Regina's eyes open confused, her voice groggy.

Emma's tongue grazes her mother gently.

"I promise I'll protect you…." Emma whispers.

Regina's eyes instantly go wide. She's awake, and she doesn't understand what is happening.

"My queen." Emma whispers again, letting out her confession, not able to resist it any longer.

"Emma, what are you?" Regina cannot help but whisper. This was so wrong.

Emma holds her mother's legs tighter.

"I'm kissing it better." Emma kisses Regina's bottom lips fiercely.

Regina lets out an unexpected moan, instantly slapping her hand on to her mouth to shut herself.

"Emma, stop it!" Regina shakes her head, hands pushing Emma away roughly.

Emma quickly snaps out of her strange trance and crawls out of the sheets, cheeks red, and out of breath.

"Mother!" Emma's eyes are wide with shock.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" Regina yells her, face in horror.

Emma's heart suddenly shatters. Her mother's face showing nothing but fear? She had caused… she had caused her mother the same thing that man did… She… she's failed her.

"I…" Emma cannot speak.

Regina looks down, realizing her bottom half was revealed, she quickly pulls her gown down covering herself instantly.

Emma's cheeks flush, her eyes shutting tight. She really messed up.

"My queen…" Emma whispers her mother's name.

Her chest puffs out and the words come out, words she herself didn't know were coming.

"I LOVE YOU!"

"My Queen? " Regina's eyebrows arch up, her head shaking furiously, tears of worry in her eyes.

"Emma… this isn't right, I'm your mother!" She screams the last words.

"Mother, I… I'm sorry… it just..." Emma shuts her mouth up, before she says anymore.

Regina realizes then… she had to say it, or else something far worse could happen.

"Emma… it's disgusting." Regina narrows her eyes, giving Emma nothing but that Evil Queen look.

Emma's eyes quickly look away confused… her mother just called her disgusting and made the face, the face that only the townspeople have ever seen. She wasn't her knight anymore… She could never love her.

The dark moonlit room is instantly filled with Emma's scream; her eyes filled with falling tears and her voice letting out a loud wail.

"Emma?" Regina calls her name worriedly. Regina had never seen her child in so much despair.

But Emma does not hear it…

Emma feels that feeling again… the burning sensation in her chest… her magic.

She suddenly disappears, a cloud of light smoke taking her.

"EMMMMAAA!" Regina screams, her voice echoing into her now empty room.


	8. Chapter 8

**She needed to find her… **

Regina needed to find her, she needed to find Emma. It had been over 24 hours now, and still there was no sign of her.

She needed help… something she would never ask for in the past. She needed all the help she could get to find her… so she got it.

The search consisted of Ruby, Granny, Dr. Hopper and Graham. She couldn't do this on her own, and Gold… he refused as always.

"Regina what happened?" Ruby asks, flashlight in hand. It had already darkened.

"What would make Emma leave? Especially with what you've been through child, she would never…" Granny added.

"She… it was a misunderstanding… just a misunderstanding." Regina looks down, swallowing the lump that had been in her throat since Emma disappeared.

She grabbed her chest tight, she needed to find her; she needed to tell her that it was okay, it was okay to confuse that kind of love with the other… all that mattered now, all that mattered was finding her and holding her, complete her heart once again.

"No luck Regina…" Dr. Hopper had just made his way back to the mansion, the place they all agreed to rendezvous. They thought it would be the wisest, that hopefully Emma would come back and they'd find her there. But there was no luck, the mansion was empty.

Regina quickly fumbles through her purse, grabbing her phone.

She impatiently waits for Graham to pick up.

"Graham!" Regina speaks desperately.

"I'm sorry my queen no word." He speaks through the line tiredly.

"Well keep looking Graham! Where else could she be?! Please just find her."

Regina's tears begin once again.

"I promise not to rest my queen." The line goes dead.

She inhales deeply, stress and pain never leaving. It wouldn't, not until Emma was back.

She turns around, facing the worried crowd, her friends? No, no, Emma's friends.

"I want to thank you all for today, please, if you hear or see anything, call me. Let us start our search again tomorrow." Regina's eyes plead softly.

"Off course,." They all say in unison.

"Try to get some sleep Regina; you need to rest for tomorrow." Ruby pats her back, Granny nodding in agreement.

"And if you need to talk, I'm here." Dr. Hopper pulls his cap down and nods.

"I will Archie… thank you."

Regina quickly turns around, ready to head inside, figure out what to do next.

She did not know how much longer she could bare it… the void was bound to come back. But all she needed was Emma to come back.

**(Outside the town line)**

She'd appeared right outside the town's line.

As soon as that white smoke and tingling sensation took a hold of her, she suddenly appeared behind this red line.

She needed to escape… her magic took her here, here outside of Storybrooke. Was running away the only option? She had just told her mother that she loved her! What else could she do? Regina hated her… her queen despised her.

It was cold, dark and silent. She wished she'd have actual clothing on… all she wore were her girl briefs and t shirt she wore to bed. She shivered as the night's cold breeze hit her frame, her shamed body.

It's no wonder her magic took her here, even it knew she didn't deserve to be with her mother… she didn't deserve to be near her queen… she was just a disgusting child, a child… nothing more.

Not a sheriff, not a lover, and especially not a knight.

Her eyes narrowed, just as her mothers had moments ago.

"I know what I have to do…" Emma murmurs into the cold air.

**….**

She waited all day long, poofing away every time Archie or Ruby were nearby, she couldn't be seen.

Her plan would never work. Her mother would find her, and she would never… she would never bare the shame.

As soon as nightfall hit, she made her way to her mother's mansion.

Yes… her mother's, it was no longer hers… she did not deserve it.

As her mother's disgusted face replayed over and over Emma's brain, erasing Sydney successfully but making no difference in pain, she made her way quietly into her room. The room that was never really hers…

She grabbed as many items as she could… her backpack, her hoodie, and the book Mary Margaret had given her… she needed something she hadn't read before… something for the road. She'd leave her journal… with a note inside, a note for Regina… so she'd know. So she'd know she was at least okay… She wouldn't cause her any more trouble…

She quietly made her way to the now forbidden room…. her mother's room. She needed to get one last thing…

As soon as her sneakered feet touched her mother's room floor, there she lay in bed.

She lay on her disheveled sheets, books spread all around the bed. As she got closer, she read some open pages… a location spell?

Emma's head tilted sideways… "Off course" Emma thought.

Her mother was not at all offended by her magic… because she knew…. How? Emma wondered.

Her head shook violently… this was no time for questions. She had no right to stay and ask…

As quietly as possible, Emma opened the drawer next to her mother's laying body.

She found her last item…. Within the drawer was a jewelry box, a jewelry box Emma knew contained a bunch of valuable things. This was her way out…

This was also her first time stealing. She was stealing from her mother… something she'd never do. But she had too, to make it possible… possible to…

She put the valuable items in her Bag, she was ready…

But before she left… she had to do one last thing, she could not handle not doing so.

She turned to face her mother's sleeping face and slowly leaned down.

She needed to say goodbye… she needed to kiss her lips; she wasn't going to see her for a long time.

She could feel the warm breath from her mother's mouth hit her slightly smaller mouth, this was it… this was her goodbye.

But before she could press her ready lips, her mother's eyes open wide.

"Emma?!" Regina quickly grabs her arm.

"Mom?!" Emma cries in despair. She could not speak to her further… or else she could never leave.

She had to leave.

"Goodbye Mother, I love you." Emma murmurs.

Emma's eyes shed a single tear, a tear that lands perfectly on Regina's soft face.

Before Regina could respond, she felt Emma's arm dissipate. Emma was taken away once again, by the white smoke Regina had grown to hate.

"Emma wait!"

It was too late… she was gone.

And Regina had the most horrid feeling that she would never see her again.

It was her turn to let out a high pitched cry.

….

Emma ran… she ran as fast as she could.

The line was just a few feet away, and she knew if she turned back her feet would stop. She could not stop, she had to do this!

Just one more step and…

She made it… she was outside of Storybrooke.

She knew what she had to do… she decided once her magic brought her here the day before.

She was leaving…

And she wasn't coming back... not until she was everything her mother would love.

A sheriff, a knight, and most of all… an adult.

And if her mother did not love her then… then she truly was disgusting.


	9. Chapter 9

**3 months without her…**

3 months without Emma… the void had undeniably returned.

As soon as Emma disappeared in front of her eyes 3 months prior, that emptiness came back.

But that emptiness did not matter any longer; all she wanted was to have Emma back, safe and sound. Her loneliness had no importance, as long as Emma was safe. But all she had was her room and her things, nothing more.

She had not touched her things since, she did not think she could handle it… but after so many days and weeks she finally lay on her Emma's sheets, smelling her scent.

The tears no longer came out… they had been replaced by noticeable bags under her eyes; a result of crying far too many days in a row.

She held on tight to her daughters pillows, imagining her instead.

But with this sadness came frustration…

She threw Emma's pillows forward, hard against Emma's walls.

Her eyes closed, she suddenly felt something underneath where the pillow had been.

Her eyes opened curiously and timidly, a journal?

It was a black journal with the words Emma scribbled in front of it… was this Emma's Diary?

She had never laid her eyes on this. Did Emma not tell her? Emma told her everything….

Regina felt shame rise in her chest… not everything, she thought to herself. Not being able to ignore the pain in her lonely chest.

What could Emma have written? What did she keep hidden? Regina dreaded those answers but had to know.

As she lifted the book a piece of paper, a letter, slid out of the pages.

"A letter?" Regina whispered to no one.

She quickly snapped out of her clueless mind and unfolded it… she needed to know. She needed to speak with her daughter, and this seemed to be the only way.

"To my beloved mother, my queen." Regina read, it was for her! She eagerly continued to read what she feared.

_**(Emma's Letter) **_

_To my beloved mother, my queen._

_Mom, I'll be okay. Please do not worry, I promise to come back one day._

_All I wanted was to make you smile and be proud of me, but all I caused was pain and fear. I've caused you what that monster caused you… I am no different. I saw it when I saw your face… disgust. I am not worthy to even be called your child…. These thoughts… these thoughts aren't…_

_I mean even if I wasn't your child… I am still just that, a child. What could you possibly see in me? _

_I am leaving mother, I will grow and come back… and if I still disgust you… well it couldn't be helped. _

_I know you must think I am crazy but… I've left you my journal, my deepest thoughts, maybe then… maybe then you'll see? If my love is unrequited, at least I know you'll know… this was not your fault, but my own. _

_You are nothing but a wonderful woman, a perfect mother… so please do not blame yourself, just wait for me. I will be back._

_Sincerely, your future knight Emma_

**…**

Regina dropped to her knees… as soon as she began reading Emma's letter she had wandered off into the house, getting lost.

The floor hit her knees, snapping her into reality.

Her child was gone… and it was her fault. She… she should have noticed, she should have known.

But she did notice… and that's what may be killing her the most... it hit her the night she found Emma on top of her, in between her… she couldn't finish that sentence.

She should have been more aware and more concerned.

She could recall a time where Emma walked in on her in the bathroom, she stood there naked and Emma was obviously blushing at what she saw… why didn't she… why didn't she say something? She could have been more concerned, she could have told Emma to knock before going in… that it was not right to see a person naked, especially her mother…

But that was just it… she let her. Regina's tears began anew.

She let her child see her, and she blushed herself in the process… She… she found it adorable, her child was just being herself… she didn't see a big deal in it.. all children go through it… but, but she let her and did not think twice on explaining anything to her… it was just natural for them… ever since they became one… it was always her and Emma, how could she… how could she discipline her child's growth?!

"It's my fault…" Regina muttered into the empty hall.

She… she let her. And if she was just a better mother, a better person, she could have stopped this.

She let her child grow these feelings for her…

She slowly walked into her bedroom, the bedroom she once shared with her child, realizing that that too was a mistake.

She softly sat on the chair beside her window, and began the first page of Emma's secrets.

**(Outside of Storybrooke, Hopkins Minnesota) **

3 months went by, and Emma had gotten nowhere but into trouble.

As soon as she tried to get to a town, any town… an officer found her wandering the road and took her in.

She had to lie and said she did not remember who she was, or else they would take her back… later on she found out there was nowhere to go back too, Storybrooke was magic. She realized when the officer pulled out a map to try to jog her memory… and there where Storybrooke should have been, was nowhere to be seen.

They sent her straight to a foster care system… she was too old to be adopted right away. Something she did not want. She had a mother, she just needed to grow… she had the leverage… but as soon as she tried to run away from the home, she tried to sell the jewelry and had the cops called on her…. sending her right back to this foster system. Where was she? Hopkins Minnesota… the magic less town.

She also realized that as soon as she stepped foot out of Storybooke, her magic was nonexistent, something she quickly found as a downside to her plans.

Foster care… there were so many children here. Children that needed mothers, children who were abandoned, and were left all alone, THESE CHILDREN WANTED MOTHERS! And it hit Emma bad… she had one and she was letting it go… but she could not, no she could not let herself think this way, she could not forget her plan.

Even if she wanted to go back… she no longer knew the way, and no one would ever believe her. So she fearlessly raised her chest and decided to stay here… help the others find a home and grow.

**…**

Regina's heart could not take it… her child suffered for so long, feeling these feelings she never spoke of.

The pain she felt when she was separated from Regina was undeniably the same pain Regina had felt… but for her child to feel it killed her more.

Ever since she forced her to sleep on her own… it had started; the undeniable void that she too felt.

But this wasn't romance… it was fate. She and Emma were just meant to be…. This could not be anything more.

What other explanation was there? Emma was a child and she a lonely queen who needed someone… a child. Nothing more… how could fate do this to her?

It was impossible! And Regina refused to believe anything else….

Until she got to the last pages… the pages where Emma felt those things she could not explain before. The pages where Emma explained those forbidden feelings…

Her child was indeed in love with her… and Regina could not do a thing to stop it, there was no Emma to stop.

**…..**

It was bedtime at the foster home, 2 kids shared a room with her… at least nights didn't feel so lonely.

Every night they'd ask her to tell a story, Emma knew many… She was the oldest one there, Todd was 8… and Lizzy was 6… she would be their protector, their older sister.

Tonight was exciting.

She would be reading Once Upon A Time, the book Mary Margaret had given her. It was her first time reading it… she could not wait.

She quickly tucked them into bed; just like her mother would and sat nearby… she opened the first page excitedly, little did she know she would begin to read her mother's very own secrets.


	10. Chapter 10

**She'd pleaded and begged…**

But Rumple had yet to give in… She needed his help and that imp wouldn't give it to her. It'd been over a year and she'd yet figured out how to cross the line and locate Emma. There was no magic here… no magic past the town line, and even if she did make a successful location spell, how would she, how would she find her, how would she find Emma? There was no magic over that damned line!

The void had turned into a tint of darkness, she became angrier once again. The only people she could stand were the wolf girl and Granny… not even Dr. Hopper was helping this time. She would not mind his company but she could not talk to him any longer. How could she possibly explain her daughter's darkest secrets, her daughter lusting over her own mother, the evil queen?

Lusting? That wasn't quite right…

Emma did not lust for her. She, she felt deeply… she, she loved her? Regina shook her head like so many times before. A year of these thoughts had triggered multiple questions. One of them being, could Emma truly have this love like feelings for her? Or was it a child's thing? She could not shake what she saw, felt, and read… deep within her imperfect chest; she knew… it might be real. But she hoped Emma would forget, and just miss her as a mother, and nothing more… she would return because she needed her mother… nothing more.

She did not dare feel disgust over her child's feelings… just fear, fear that her story, their story, would just complicate. After all, the evil queen always had to suffer didn't she? She found a happy ending and fate just wanted to rip that away… and so far it was succeeding. She no longer had her child, and when she found her… because she would surely find her, how would she fix this? How could she get their happy ending back? Fate was… fate was an evil thing… she wasn't even sure if she believed in it… but why give her a wondrous gift like Emma just to rip it away in the most hideous of ways.

Her mother… her mother took away Daniel, now fate was taking away Emma. Was this the prophecy? Was this how her Happy Ending would be taken away? An incestual like affair destroying the only thing that's ever made her feel complete.

NO! Emma… her child wouldn't! And she would never… she would never do that to her child!

"Oh Emma…" Regina spoke the only words she could say.

"Why?" Regina's eyes glistened with question.

Why had Emma fallen for her? She was nothing but a bitter woman, a mother… she just could not understand.

Her palms began to sweat just like that night.

A couple of weeks ago she had woken, she had woken from a dream, a dream that she kept trying to forget… a memory that she needed to forget.

_(The Dream)_

_She felt a sudden sensation, a soft, warm, wonderful sensation… it came from under her sheets…_

_She suddenly looks under the blankets and see's Emma… Emma looks up at her innocently and enamored. Regina's heart races… _

"_Emma?" Regina whispers._

"_What are you doing down there?" Regina tries to tighten her legs shut, she tries to get these sensations away from herself. _

_Emma looks up at her from in between her legs and smiles. _

_Regina shuts her eyes tight._

_Regina's heart throbs in completeness… the void clearing out. _

_She opens them once again and looks down, ready to stop this madness, to push Emma away from her inner thighs._

_But suddenly... it is no longer Emma, but a much older looking woman, with beautiful blonde locks, a strong chiseled chin and those eyes? Emma's eyes…_

"_My Queen?" The older woman asks cautiously in between her legs. _

_It was… it was her child, it was Emma… but she was no longer a child… but her… her lover?_

…_._

"_NO!" that is when Regina forced herself to wake; she quickly pulls the sheets off her legs and examines the empty space between them… _

"_It was just a dream… "She exhales relieved._

_But after that relief, the pain came rushing back… Emma was not there… Her child was still gone. _

…_..._

Regina had not mentioned this to Dr. Hopper or even to herself… But she had had these dreams more than once… she could not remember anything else. She needed to Find Emma… she needed to find her daughter and make new memories… remind her what a mother was suppose to be.

Imp or no Imp, she would bring her child back, if it was the last thing she did…

**(Outside of Storybrooke)**

The Evil Queen was her mother….

Emma had stopped reading the book to the kids long ago; she could no longer share such a story with anyone. She could not share what horrid things her mother had done…

If Emma thought her heart could not break any further… she was wrong.

Her mother was indeed an evil queen who, who did horrible things…

She could not finish this book… she closed it and promised herself to not open it until she was face to face with her mother once again and could get the answers she needed… she would not judge her mother, she would wait till she grew and read the story with her, hopefully her mother would trust her and be honest. The pain was inevitable, but Emma was now 14 and realized something…

A year without her mother made her realize how lucky she was to have one. She had a home, food, and love. A few kids had already gotten adopted, she wasn't expecting to be one of them but somehow, it hurt not to be. One of the kids that she'd been reading too had gone to a home, and returned a week later. Liz was being starved and used for the money. She saw the damage that had been done; Liz could no longer really enjoy the fairytales once she had returned.

Emma wanted to return, she missed her mother… she needed her mother. But she knew she had made a mistake that could not be taken back… she could not face her yet.

And with all this new information she had gained, all she wanted was to grow wiser and stronger, so that she could face all the damage.

_Knock, knock._

"Emma." It was Ingrid, the foster home caretaker.

"Yes Ms. Ingrid?" Ingrid shook her head.

"You know you can call me Ingrid Emma." She smiles kindly.

"Ingrid." Emma smiles.

Emma did not have Regina anymore… but at least she had Ingrid. She had taken care of her; she had taken care of all of them. She could not have her mother's arms... But at least she had this. It could be worse.

As soon as Emma smiled Ingrid let in a tall man and shorter woman, with hopeful eyes on her.

"Emma, this is Mr. and Mrs. Tate." Ingrid gently pressed her hand on Emma's shoulder, gently guiding her in front of the couple.

"They would like to get to know you Emma, and if all goes well, they would like to be your new parents." Ingrid smiled warmly and almost sadly.

"Par…parents?" Emma asked.

The man was the first to move forward, he slowly leaned down to Emma's height and smiled.

"Yes Emma, we would love it if you gave us a chance?" He hummed in question.

The women now joined his side.

"We've been wanting a daughter Emma… and as soon as we saw your picture… we knew." The women's eyes began to water.

"We did not want an infant, Noah and I agreed that a baby was not for us, but you… look at you, you're a princess, a teen that we would love to take into our care." The woman smiled warmly.

Emma was silent.

She had a mother… she had a parent. She wasn't sure she could go through with this…. But she had to, how else would she survive and grow. She felt an odd feeling enter her chest… but instantly ignored it… she was going to do this… she had no choice.

"Hi, I'm Emma." She reached out her hand.

…..

Meanwhile, back in Storybrooke, Regina lay on her bed, waking up suddenly to a tight feeling in her chest… an odd feeling.

Unbeknownst to Regina, she got the exact same feeling Emma had gotten at the exact same time.

Something was wrong.


	11. Chapter 11

**He refused to help Regina over himself…**

In time, Rumple would help the oh so desperate "Evil" Queen to find her beloved Savior, but now was not that time. Ever since his memories had returned, somewhere in his darkened chest he could still feel Belle, but that was impossible, Regina made sure of that. He would surely leave Regina's needs last… Right now, he needed to help himself, he need not worry over the Savior, the prophecy was sure to come either way, fate had its way, besides he always came first, Rumpelstiltskin always came first.

He was going to get back his son… Belle was no longer at reach, she was dead. The Evil Queen had taken her away from him; fate always had its way… He manipulated Regina to become dark, and cast this wretched curse, and in return fate took away his beloved…

There was no time to fiddle with locations spells for Regina, he needed his own for Bae… Because once this curse breaks, he will have what he needs… he will have the tools to find Bae, he will have his son, his son in whom he endured this whole ordeal for in the first place.

Besides, Regina's plans of location spells were hopeless… she would get nowhere without this curse breaking first. They needed the savior for that… and the savior was nowhere in sight, nor was she ready.

He had made the choice a while back; he would not share this information with his alumni.

He would let Regina suffer, satisfying his loss of Belle in the process.

"Suffer you will dearie…"

His chest tingled with satisfaction.

**(The Mansion)**

Regina had sent Graham outside the town line months ago, he'd yet to return. She feared the worse… he has not found her, he cannot re-enter Storybrooke, or he was indefinitely lost in that endless town they called Maine. What if Emma was further than that? What if Emma was…

She is instantly reminded of the odd sensation she felt months ago… It had been 3 months after Emma's 14th Birthday, she'd missed it… she clutches her chest through her shirt; she hoped not to miss more.

The odd sensation… she felt dread every day since Emma left… but this feeling was different, it was as if she could feel something coming, yet she wasn't sure what that something was… but it wasn't good, and she went crazy… angry and crazy, it was as if she were still in the enchanted forest creating havoc.

She sighed deeply, grabbing a firm hold on her now throbbing head.

She could not shake the feeling; she couldn't just stay here and do nothing. Graham or no Graham, she had no time to find out, she would get out there and look herself… she was getting out of this cursed town and searching for her child, she was going to Maine… and anywhere else if she had too.

She quickly dialed Ruby's number; Ruby… she was no longer just the wolf girl. She and Granny had been here for Emma's birthday… Mary Margaret had informed them of the event, and they were here by her side, like true companions… friends.

Mary Margaret, that woman…. The whole town knew of Emma's disappearance since the night of the incident, the night Emma ran away. Most people spread rumors that it must have been because the Mayor was nothing but a wicked mother… But Snow, despite the hate she felt, the envy for being her Childs real mother… Snow had been having her own search parties in the town… along with those damn elves, dwarfs, whatever they were.

And although she had nothing but gratefulness to whoever could find her… She was going to do this on her own now.

Because she would not let that woman find Emma before her.

"Hello." Ruby made herself known on the line.

"Ruby, I need your help." Regina asked full of hope.

"Anything." Ruby answered warmly, unlike Graham answering his commands.

"Meet me in the town line in an hour."

Regina quickly hung up the line; she was ready to find Emma and bring her back.

**(Tate's Residence)**

She had been adopted after only a few days of getting to know them… Apparently the Tate's thought Emma was the one for them since they first saw her… 1 month in this house.

The husband, Noah… he was the most eager. He had already bought Emma a few things she never thought she'd have outside of Storybrooke, things her mother had already gotten her, things she left behind.

He was nice… but still, he was a stranger who gave too much. Her mother always taught her not to accept so much… especially from an eager man. Emma never had a father, she was never curious to have one… she was perfectly content with her mother, so it made no difference what Noah would do… he would never be a father to her, just a nice warm home… a necessity.

Carol, the wife… she was all sparkly eyes and warm hugs… she loved to bake and cook. Carol was a lovely woman; she wished she'd taken in a few of the other kids instead, kids that did not have a mother… she would have been perfect. They would have loved her.

She still wasn't sure how she felt about all this… about them. The home was beautiful, the food was great, but still… something was itching at her skin. She hoped it was just her skin missing her mother's arms…

**Later that night…**

Emma lay awake in the bed the Tate's had gotten her, the bed that was the complete opposite of what she had back in Storybrooke… Her bed in Storybrooke was all blue and white sheets, no need for kiddy stuff…

This one, this one was exactly that… a kid's bed. It had designs that only an 8 year old girl would enjoy… flowers and pink. But this was not Emma, ever.

"What am I saying…" Emma sighed to herself.

At least she had a bed… most kids that left the home were in the streets. They'd run away after realizing the parents weren't what they seemed.

Thinking of people not being what they seem.

Emma got in trouble today… She still doesn't understand why. Noah seemed so nice… he was always so patient and always offering Emma things she might need.

1 month and she'd yet to get in trouble… but today, today was different.

She'd call him Noah ever since she met him… that was never going to change, that was his name! Carol had just left to work…

Emma had finished washing dishes, the least she could do for being fed… Noah made his way to Emma, a teddy bear in hand.

"Emma, there's no need to do dishes, that's your mothers job." He hummed contently.

"Umm, I…" Carol was not her mother.

"Cat got your tongue Emma?" Noah asks, his tone growing lower.

"No umm, I just don't feel com…"

"Comfortable?" He finishes for her.

"Yeah… I'm sorry Noah." Emma apologizes, feeling sad for the couple. She would never be what they wanted.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Noah's angry voice.

"Go to your room Emma!" He practically spits at her face. Her eyes went wide not expecting this reaction at all… not from this kind and giving man?

She quickly ran upstairs and into the cold sheets… and she's been here since. She hoped Carol would return soon, she suddenly felt anxious over her return.

She hears her room door creak open… a tall silhouette is all she could see.

It was Noah… was he coming to apologize? She hoped not, it was really weird the way he talked to her… she did not like it. She really hoped Carol got home at this moment.

The odd feeling came back, and it was really bad… she did not want him here, and that is when she knew… the bad feeling was Noah.

She quickly feigned sleep, anything to avoid him.

"Emma…" he whispered, making his way next to her "sleeping" body.

She did not dare blink an eye.

"Emma wake up!" his voice became enraged just like before… she was unable to hold in a shudder that escaped her lips.

"So you are awake..." she could hear his smirk through his voice.

"Open your eyes Emma…" He demanded… she refused.

"Open your eyes Emma or it'll be worse." He warned.

Her eyes could not help but open and see his now lingering face in front of hers.

"So I'm not your Dad am I?" He asks… his eyes somewhere else. Emma's grabs her sheets, pulling them up towards her chin, hiding her body like a shield.

Was this what her mother felt? This fear? Did Sydney cause this horrid feeling… did she?

"Answer me girl!" he rips the sheets right off her now shivering body.

"Well since I am not your father…." He smiles almost gleefully.

"I can do this…" He quickly pulls up the gown he had bought her as sleeping wear; successfully uncovering her bottom area… the area she swore would only be seen by herself or her mother, her queen.

The odd feeling was not going to go away… she understood that now. She did not know what to do… she had no magic here.

"Now, let's see if you call me daddy now…" He rips his belt off ready to unbutton his jeans.

"MOTHER!" Emma screams into the dark room, hoping that somehow Regina would come.

...

**Authors Note: For anyone enjoying this story, made this last night, hope you like it:** /watch?v=JgZApQh-gB0 **If link does not appear just search youtube under Emma &amp; Regina | A New Happy Ending by bloobeyond.  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**Her mother wasn't coming…**

Her mother did not know where Emma was, how could she? Emma had heartbreakingly run away from her queen and wandered into this frightening man's home. This home she no longer wanted to be in…

She forced her eyes closed, hearing the zipper of his pants go down… her heart longed for her mother's stern voice to frighten this man away, like so many countless times at home, her mother wouldn't let anyone near her… but now, now she was here… here with no magic. She willed her body to disappear from this room, but all she could feel was the hollow air hit her legs.

She had no magic, she had no control.

How was she suppose to be strong, how was she suppose to grow up and protect her mother? She could not even help herself… how was she going to become anything worth her mother's lost time? She couldn't get away, she couldn't protect herself… Noah was going to… what Sydney did to… to her queen.

That's when she felt it… the anger raise from her chest, the lost memory returning. Sydney touching and hurting her mother… her eyes became dark and narrowed. She was going to grow to be that knight she was that night… her mother's knight, she would protect herself and grow to protect her queen. She would not return to Storybrooke until she became everything she vowed to be.

Before Noah could even begin to pull his pants down, Emma lushes her body forward pushing him away.

He lands hard on the ground.

"Emma!" He yells, his sweet lying voice quickly returning. She grabs the nearest object, a lamp. She clutches tight and swings it towards him; she jumps over his damaged face, running out of the room in the process.

"Emma!" He yells in pain.

Emma's feet never stop; she was getting out of here.

As soon as her feet make it through the front door, her feet stop on the pavement outside. Carol was there… standing in front of her, eyes wide and full of fear.

"Emma?" Carol quickly takes a hold of Emma's shoulders, eyes full of concern.

"What's going on sweetie? Why is Noah yelling?!" She asks softly, looking for answers.

"He… he… he tried to touch me… he… he pulled down his pants and wouldn't stop yelling." Emma practically screams, saying these words as quickly as possible, scared that he'd come out before she finished them.

Carol's hand suddenly let go of Emma, silence taking over her face.

"Carol?" Emma whispers, tears on her face.

She has no time to receive an answer, she hears him coming… his quick heavy footsteps running down the stairs.

"Carol, please help me… he's coming!" Emma yells.

Carol was lost… her eyes closed, her chest breathing hard.

Emma was not waiting any longer; Carol would never choose her over her husabnd… Carol was just standing there doing nothing!

She did not want to leave her standing there, but Emma's feet made the decision for her.

She ran… she would run wherever they took her, she would find a way to be okay, she would find a way to escape this town and go on to the next… she wasn't going back to that family, she wasn't going back to the foster care system…

Emma ran… she'd run until her legs couldn't take it.

**(Storybrooke)**

Regina stood in front of the intimidating red line, her eyes practically daring it to disappear.

She was getting her child back, and they were coming back home… no one, not even her curse would stop her.

She would find Emma, this was her undeniable wish… she was not letting fate take her away.

"We've done what you asked child…" Granny spoke behind Regina, arm gently pressed on Regina's shoulder.

"We passed on the information to the town, you are going on a long trip to find Emma, and we will build the light by the time you come back." Ruby promises.

They spoke of the plan Regina had, she asked them to convince the dwarfs to help her and Granny build a light and push it outside of the line… place it as a type of lighthouse for her and Emma to find their way back.

"We don't understand one thing though?" Ruby asks.

"Yes Ruby?" Regina asks, already in front of her Mercedes door.

"Why must we push the light outside the line? Why can't we just build it out there?" Ruby asked lost.

Regina lets out a heavy sigh.

No one knew they were cursed… and as soon as anyone made their way outside that line Storybrooke would cease to exist, and they would possibly become lost forever.

"Ruby please just…" Regina couldn't finish her sentence, something hit her, something hit her harshly.

"Regina?" Ruby makes her way quickly towards the scared faced mayor.

"Something's wrong with Emma… I could feel it…" Regina faces Ruby face in despair.

"I have to go! Take care of my town… I trust you both…" Regina waited no longer for a response, she hurriedly made her way into her car, pushed the gas, tires burning concrete and drifted off past the line and towards her child… wherever she was.

**Authors note: Short but wanted to give you guys an update.**


	13. Chapter 13

**28 hours of searching…**

Regina had gotten no sleep; the pain in her chest denied it. She searched for hours asking every police station she found… she had gone through six. Each one giving her no hope, until now… she had a lead.

A sheriff had found a girl named Emma wandering alone with nothing but a backpack; he gave Regina the information to the foster home he had taken her too. He offered taking her there, obviously wanting to make sure she was indeed the Childs mother; Regina knew they looked nothing alike.

She refused, feeling insulted instead.

But he wouldn't take no for an answer and insisted she follow him there, it was a 2 hour drive after all. She admired his good work ethic; at least this man did his job right, she could trust a Sherriff like this… to protect her daughter, Graham was no longer an option.

…..

They were here… Hopkins Minnesota, the foster home… a home her child could have still been in if she hadn't taken her in, a parentless life… a life that Regina knew would have been her fault… a life she condemned her beloved child too… but she vowed to make it up to her, ever since she found out the truth, Emma was that child she cursed at just a day old, the child she loved unconditionally since she laid eyes on her… she was finding Emma, she wasn't letting her go back to this life. She belonged to Regina now… Emma was everything.

"We are here Mam…"

The sheriff was now at her window, bringing back her anticipation.

"Yes, thank you Sherriff… now, let's go get MY daughter." She smiled that smile, the one they all feared.

She could take her own heart out right now, it felt as though it was ripping out of her chest, just a few more seconds and she would have Emma back. She would have her child… Regina suddenly looks down, her palms sweating… she was nervous. What would she tell Emma? Could they ignore what had happened? Start new? It did not matter to Regina, what Emma felt and did… she was still her child and Emma had her heart, surely fate could never destroy that.

"Is Emma here?!" Regina was quickly ripped away from her thoughts and concerns, a lady with red long hair screaming a name all too familiar to her… her daughter's name.

"Pleaseee, is she here?" Regina slowly made her way to the information desk, fearfully approaching this woman.

"Mrs. Tate?" Ingrid, the woman who asked her to wait a few minutes came rushing out.

"My husband… he… he hurt Emma and…" Ingrid's eyes grew wide, quickly looking towards Regina; she was already by Carol's side worry evident on her face.

"Mrs. Tate... please slow down, explain to me what is going on... Where is Emma?!" Ingrid could not help but yell the last question to the headless chicken of a woman in front of her.

"SILENCE!" Regina suddenly shut the room up with her queen like voice.

"Is this… is this Emma… is this my Emma we are speaking of?" Regina looked at both women, voice full of dread… anger approaching.

"Your Emma?" Carol's eyes go wide with surprise.

"My daughter you imbecile." Regina whispers, her face now inches away from Carol's.

"Oh dear God…" the women falls to the floor, covering her face in shame.

Ingrid approaches Regina grabbing her shoulder… Regina was not having it. She shoves the hand off accusingly…

"You... you gave my child to this woman?!" Regina practically roars.

"Ms. Mills, I promise you, we did not know, Emma swore to not having a family… she said she was all alone." Regina's heart broke.

Was Emma that hurt? So much in pain that she no longer felt she had a mother? Was Emma's un-denying love… her feelings of romance… had it pushed all feelings of her being her mother away?

No. She was not accepting this.

Regina's eyes narrowed down to the woman on the floor.

"Tell me where my daughter is!" Regina yelled her demand.

"I, I made the report today… my husband… he tried to rape her and… and Emma ran away… I cannot find her anywhere!" Carol broke down once again.

Regina and Ingrid's eyes both go wide.

Regina could not control what was coming… the heat in her body… the anger…

She bent down and roughly grabbed the woman by her shirt forcefully pulling her up onto her feet.

This woman was lucky; Regina had no magic to rip out this woman's heart!

"Tell me you worthless peasant, when did this happen?" Regina needed to know where Emma had gone; she needed to find her now quicker than ever. Her child needed her…

"A day ago…" the women fearfully answered.

"A what?" Regina glared incredulously.

"You… you waited a whole day to find my child? to imprison that man?!" Regina practically spat.

"I… he was my husband.. I was blind.. I should have known when he begged for us to get an older child…" She began to break down once more…

Regina was not having this… this was her daughter! This woman had no right to cry!

"You are lucky I cannot kill in this land… or so help me, your husband would be dead right now… and so would you."" Regina venomously replied.

"Now tell me, where did you last see her?!" Regina needed to find her; nothing was getting in her way. That man… that filth would pay in the future, right now all she needed was to find her daughter.

**(2 days later)**

**She would not think of that night ever again… she was safe now, safer than in that house. **

Emma had stolen once again… she could not sell her mother's jewels, it was too risky, a child selling such valuable things, it did not work before, and she was sure It would not work again.

She stole a man's train ticket.. She needed to get on that train. And indeed she stole and got…

New York, she made it. She had read about this place in Storybrooke, Mary Margaret had given her a key to the Library… she found and read many books on other towns and states… this was one of them. 

She pulled out the map she retrieved from her earlier victim; he was practically blind to her quick thieving hands. She hated it, but it was necessary.

"What should I do now…" Emma whispered, her stomach rumbling right on cue. She gripped her stomach hard, how she wished to have her mother's pancakes…

She found the nearest convenience store, she needed something to eat… she'd have to steal, and she had to get used to it… what other way was there?

As soon as she stepped in she was knocked over by a running girl… a girl with long black hair.

"Hey you, stop right there…" the store's clerk was running towards them.

Emma saw fear in her eyes… she was sure this girl was stealing, what if she needed this as much as she did? She grabbed the girls hand quickly and began to run…

"Common let's get out of here!" Emma yelled, instantly receiving a hand squeeze in return.

This girl was indeed running with her. As soon as they found an alley to hide in the girl turned around and smiled out of breath.

"Thank you for that… umm?" The girl squinted, her brown eyes shining.

"Emma." Emma breathlessly answered.

"And you are?" She asked curiously.

The girl smiled mischievously and answered.

"My name is Lily."


	14. Chapter 14

**She never had a friend like Lily…**

She never really had a friend… it was always her and her mother, and off course the occasional Ruby, Granny and Mary Margaret, but that was it really. Regina tried to get her to join after school programs and she welcomed any sleepovers, but Emma was just never very fond of them. She was fond of something else… someone else.

"Sigh." Emma's stress escapes her lips.

"What's wrong Emma?" Lily asks with worry, already attached to Emma.

It had been 4 weeks, just her and Lily in the streets, and now this abandoned house. She never wanted a friend that wasn't her mother… but she was starting to rethink it now, it felt nice…. especially now that her mother and her were so far apart.

She wished she could go back… but all of it would have been for nothing, besides how was she getting back?

"Emma?" Lily pokes Emma with a smile full of encouragement; they sat on the soft warm couch curled into each other… Emma's thoughts interrupting the movie they had been watching. She couldn't help but think, her thoughts were always messing things up…

"Nothing… I… I was just thinking." Emma responds, trying not to bring up her story.

"About what?" Lily pushes, her mischievous smile opening her locked door.

Emma's lips tighten, she couldn't tell Lily the truth, it was… she felt ashamed, everything that happened began to slowly change her mind, her mother made her feel ashamed…

"I… I can't Lily..." Emma subconsciously lays her head on the only shoulder she currently trusted.

She could trust Lily… they helped each other survive so far. But she could not trust anyone with her mother!

"Emma, you can trust me…" Lily gently grabs Emma's hand in hers.

Emma's head shoots up, she eyes their hands in entwined, she felt warmth… a feeling she thought she could only feel with…

"Sigh." Lily lets out her own sigh, taking in Emma's silence as a no.

"Okay look, I'll tell you a secret and you tell me one?" Lily raises her eyebrows up and down, almost comically.

"Really?!" Emma responds, not believing that this person could trust her with a secret. Emma never felt this special before… only with… but then it hits her, just like everything else had hit her these past couple of months… Regina never trusted her with her story, her past? Regina… when did Emma start calling her that?

Mom, mom, mom… Emma repeated in her head quickly, pushing away all negative thoughts she could possibly create about her mother… distance was a shrivel thing.

"Off course Emma, I trust you." Lily assured.

….

Lily told her story, the story of not having parents… she was an orphan like all those kids, and she was alone for so long, her heart felt for Lily. She herself would never know what that was like… not having parents…

"Lily, I'm so sorry..." Emma's hand tightens her hold on Lily's hand… moving her thumb gently, rubbing soothing circles.

"It's you and me now Lily… we'll protect each other." Emma vows.

She could be Lily's protector… she could do that. This girl, this person needed that. They could both protect each other… she would grow strong and brave.

She could be the knight she longed to be…

"Your secret…" Lily answered in return, her eyes sparkling.

"What was it?" Lily looked curiously at Emma.

Emma would open up… Lily did, she would too.

"My mother…" Emma whispered head down.

"Your Mother?" Lily repeats, wondering if she understood Emma's low whisper correctly.

"I… I fell in love with my mother…" Emma murmurs, ready to hear outrage.

Emma heard nothing, she got no response… she did not know if that was better then what she expected. She looked up at Lily but noticed nothing, she could not read her.

"I mean, that's why I am here now… I… I ran away…. She hates me." Emma looks down now, tears threatening to fall.

"Sooo, you're Gay?" Lily finally speaks.

Emma's eyes go wide… out of all she just said… Lily asks this? Emma's hands unconsciously reach to her mouth, a loud guffaw taking over Emma's sad face.

"What?" Lily asks, no disgust evident in her voice.

"Sooo, are you?" She sneakily asks, dare Emma say, hopefully asks?

"I don't know Lily!" Emma responds, cheeks red with embarrassment. She hadn't felt this embarrassed since her mother talked to her about her period. How was she supposed to talk to her mother about that, it was so embarrassing, and now this? How was she supposed to answer Lily… what if Lily wasn't like her? What if she hated her?

"Oh common, you fell in love with your mom! She's a woman… can you… can you fall in love with another… girl?" Lily asks, Emma hears something she hadn't from Lily… nerves?

"I… I…" Before Emma could finish, Lily leans in, pressing her soft lips on Emma's.

"Mmmm." Emma's mouth makes an audible moan.

Lily was kissing her… it felt, it felt nice. Emma began to kiss back… This was her first kiss. Her first…

Emma was gay, she had to be… this felt so…

This was her first kiss. Her first…

"Wait!" Emma stops, her hand grabbing her chest. She was saving her first kiss for someone she truly loved… it felt nice, but… but it wasn't… it wasn't Regina. She somehow felt she had betrayed her… she made this decision, this journey for her and… this was not supposed to be part of that.

"Lily... I can't…" Emma looks down, cheeks flushed.

"Why?!" Lily's angered voice asks.

"I… I.. Regina…" Emma whispered.

"Regina?" Lily furrowed her eyes.

"Emma, your mom?" Lily states.

"Yeah…" Emma shamefully stands up, not wanting to hear what was coming.

"That's never going to happen Emma… common." Lily slaps her with her words.

Before Emma can respond, before she can defend herself, the front door is suddenly broken down, a loud thud hitting their ears.

"Freeeze!" A man's voice fills the room.

It was the cops, the scary men that unlike sheriffs, did whatever they pleased at whatever time!

"Hands up ladies." Another man came in, light shinning towards them.

….

Lily… Lily was a fraud. Her family had been looking for her, and they had just found her.

She lied… she did not trust her, this was a mistake.

"Emma wait!" Lily screamed, running out of her father's arms.

"No!" Emma screams, not bothering to turn around. She made her way into the social services van waiting for her.

She was not turning back, she could not trust anyone in this city… she was going back to the foster care.

**(Just outside of New York, same time)**

Regina's lips had just tingled… she did not understand why. They felt as though they were on fire… her heart aching at the same time.

What was happening? Regina could not comprehend these sudden feelings… it had begun ever since Emma had left.

"Oh no…" Regina lets out her worry.

The last time Regina felt this was… was that man, her eyes go dark. Where was she?! She'd been looking for over a month now… and she had lost her trail.

What could she possibly do? She could not just wither away… what if Emma had returned? What if Emma went back and saw the light? What if she found her way back? What if she's there?

The worry and hopelessness got to strong; Regina was heading back to Storybrooke tonight. She had nothing else she could do… she had called all the foster care systems, all the way to New York and nothing…. Emma was smart; she could find her way back…

She quickly made her way to her car and decided…

She was heading back home, to their home, Emma would surely be there. She had to be… her hope was fading, but what other options did she have? She'd convince herself that Emma was there…

But before she could close the door someone grabbed it.

"My Queen."

Her eyes go wide.

"Graham!" her tears could not help but fall, hope had returned.

….

"I have yet to return because I've yet to accomplish the task." He looked exhausted but sure of himself.

"So you've yet to find her?" Regina looks down, disappointment taking over.

"I will keep looking." He states firmly.

"Head back home Regina… It's safer that way, what if she comes back and you aren't there?" " He puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. She needed that…

"I know…" she lets out a heavy breath.

Her eyes narrow, determination making way.

"I will be heading back to Storybrooke, you keep looking Graham, I've placed a light outside the line… you should be able to find your way back… please, if she isn't there… please, keep looking." She no longer feels the need to order him, she was asking.

"It's done my queen." He nods.

"Please don't call me that…" she suddenly could not stand to hear him say that name… Emma called her that…

"My apologies, Regina." He nods again.

"Be safe Graham, please… FIND HER!" She could not help but raise her voice, maybe if she said it loud enough, this time it would surely happen.

Either way…. It would happen. She gripped her hands tightly around her steering wheel…

She would see Emma again.


	15. Chapter 15

**Graham had found her…**

New York City…

3 Years… and Graham had found her, Graham had found Emma, and she was in New York City.

New York City! She had been so close, she could have been with her child sooner but she turned the wrong way, she went back to Storybrooke, why was fate such a thin line? Such a thin line she could never see through… she had begun to believe fate was real and on her side long ago… when Emma was placed in her arms, but now, now she just didn't know what to think.

All Regina knew was, Emma was found and she was going to get her back, her happiness had been found again.

Her heart ached ever since she'd driven back, but she had too, she found no point in searching her years away… what if her child returned to an empty home, she would not have it… she wanted Emma to return to her arms, her home.

"Oh Emma…" those words seemed so old now, yet so new. She'd said Emma's name countless times since she had gone… as if the name would summon her, but it never did… Regina could not help but let a tear fall down her pale face.

She would not cry.

She would not kill herself further… Graham had found her, and she was not waiting another minute, she was heading to New York to retrieve her child… she missed her so.

Regina had her things packed and ready, she'd been waiting over 3 years now… she was not missing another Birthday… she refused.

Emma was 17 now…

She was 17 now, and all Regina could think is, did Emma long for her as she did? Did Emma feel this undeniable ache that would never go away? Regina knew it would never go away, not unless they were together again… She hoped her daughter really did not feel what that woman Ingrid had said… that she had no parents, no mother…. Regina gripped the duffle bag in her hands, she truly hoped not.

"Ha…" she let out her frustrated laugh; hope was something Regina knew was fairly pointless, at least for her sad story of a life.

She shook her head harshly, she was wasting time.

She started her car and quickly left the cursed town, not telling a soul, not even Ruby and Granny this time… she had to see Emma, she had to get her back.

**(New York, Next day)**

"YOU WHAT?!" Emma screams, not caring if anyone in her apartment complex would hear her. Emma's eyes went wide; she grabbed herself tightly with fear and surprise… all her fears, troubles, and self conscious feelings instantly returning.

Graham gently placed his hand on Emma's shoulder, trying to calm her.

"Emma, the Mayor has been looking for you for years… you have no idea what she's been going through…" Graham's voice is gentle and full of truth.

What she's been through? Emma's chest tightens…

"How'd you find me Graham?" Emma quickly ejects those feelings, narrowing her eyes at him.

"It's taken me years, but I have these skills Ms. Mills…" He nods seriously, narrowing his eyes at her now. Emma had a skill… she'd found out in the streets, she could detect a lie… and Graham had truly called her mother.

He'd called her Ms. Mills? Emma's heart skips a beat… something it had not done in over 2 years. No one called her by that name anymore…

She had begun to forget the feeling… the feeling of just being Regina's daughter, no worries.

She was no one's daughter here, and she convinced herself that she would never be again.

She'd been through a lot, getting to where she was now… it took her 2 years to get over the pain, these feelings of disgust and love, and yet it was always there somehow… it took her 2 years to keep her promises and not think of her mother anymore… BARELY.

She could not have her mother in mind and accomplish these things she'd vowed… How? If she did she would fail… she would miss her too much and cowardly run back… wherever back was. She told herself a long time ago, she wasn't going back… not until she was what she vowed to be… and maybe it wasn't for her mother anymore, but for herself… She could not stand being a weak human being; she could not stand that memory of her mother's scared face, the disgust.

She wanted to just be okay and normal… make it up to Regina… show her that she was a knight but also… maybe she just wanted Regina to see her as a normal human being… someone she did not have to fear or carry like a burden. But when she thought about her mother, all she wanted to be was her burden, her child… her lover. Emma's eyes narrow again, she always gets lost when her mother is involved… and that's why she could not see her. She needed to be strong; she'd been through too much to give up now.

"You know, I've been through a lot too Graham." Emma's voice is distant but assertive.

"The man… Mr. Tate?" Graham asks, already having his suspicions.

Emma's eyes grow wider then they were, her throat making a gulping sound….

"How did you… Who told you?!" Emma yells, her trust issues showing on her sleeve.

Graham looks down, not sure if he should say…

"I have a job to do Ms. Mills, you are no child… if telling you is what it takes for you to see what your mother has gone through just to get you back… then so be it." He stares directly towards her distrusting eyes.

"That man… I've killed him, your mother ordered me too… this was one of my tasks." Graham spoke seriously.

Emma's breath was instantly stolen from her lips.

"The Evil Queen…" she whispers.

"The Evil what Emma?" Graham looks at her confusingly.

Emma does not know whether she should cry of happiness… that her mother would do all this just for her or… or betrayal.

That book, that book she vowed to read with her mother… it was true. And that growing hole in her chest, that growing hole of doubt just got bigger… she could trust no one, and this… this proved to her that her mother had lied as well… could she not trust her too?! Why hadn't her mother told her about the book?

"This is why I cannot see my mother!" Emma frustratingly yells.

"I'm too… I'm too confused Graham… I just need to grow up and figure myself out so please… call her back and tell her I've run off again!" Emma yells, tears streaming down her face.

"Why are you doing this Emma?" He asks.

He didn't know… off course.

Emma wipes her tears away furiously…

"If you won't do it, I have no choice but to leave immediately… we cannot be together right now." Emma looks down.

"Emma, I've called her way before I've even spoken to you… she should be here in an hour or 2." Graham had to be lying, he just wanted to keep her here as long as he could.

"You're lying; you just found me now and told me you just called her." Emma stated, voice monotone… but she already knew he was not.

"I'm sorry Emma but, I found you yesterday… and I informed her last night." He almost sounded sorry.

"Last night?!" Emma looks around frantically.

"It's 11 in the morning, she could… She could be here now… I have too, I have to go." Emma quickly runs into her apartment and slams the door.

"She can't get away that quick." Graham whispers to no one.

….

"Whoa there, what's with the slamming?" Emma almost forgets she isn't alone.

"Neal…" Her eyes begin to water.

"Hey what's wrong Emma?" He quickly makes his way next to his roommate, his companion. Neal was a friend, he had helped her out; she was practically starving and he… he stole for her. Eventually she got a job of her own and that was enough for them to get this place.

"My mom…" she whispered… he didn't know. She could never really trust anyone after Lily, not entirely.

"Your mom? Emma I thought you were an orphan…" He looked hurt but still attentive, he knew she was about to hyperventilate.

"Neal just shhh, please… we have to get out of here before she..." She could not finish that sentence.

She could hear their apartment's door being frantically knocked on… and that's when she heard her voice.

"Emma?" It was that voice…. that enchanting voice.

"Mother…" Emma whispered behind the locked door.

…

**(New York, Regina has just arrived) **

There was Graham; standing outside this old building… was this where her daughter had been staying? Her heart dreaded that answer… none of that mattered, she'd give Emma everything… everything, she just needed to see her.

"Mayor Mills, she's upstairs." He bowed and quickly led her up to Emma's door, he knew she did not like to waste time.

"In there Regina, is your daughter." He proudly informed her, pointing at the door.

She had no time to thank him; she frantically began to knock on the door…

"Emma." she impatiently called out her name, she needed to see her…

"Emma please…." She almost let out a cry.

But no one was responding… her heart was breaking as if Emma had just run away.

Before she could knock again the door sprung open and…

"Who... who… and who the hell are you?!" Regina practically yells.

A tall young man stood there mouth open in fear?

This man's eyes were practically out of his sockets, was it her looks? Was it fear? Regina did not know, nor did she care… she needed her daughter and this man was in the way.

"Answer me…" Regina's voice quivered, her tears were spilling from the anxiousness.

"I'm…"before he could finish someone pushed past him and stood same height and firmly in front of him. Those golden locks… those eyes…

…

**(Emma)**

"Mother!" Emma could not help herself, as soon as she heard that woman's voice quiver and crack, her body took control and made herself push past Neal and directly in front of… in front of…

"Mother…." She let out those words accompanied by a much needed breath… her mother. She hadn't aged one bit… and… she looked just the same… so perfect.

"Emma!" Regina responded quickly and no questions asked; she lunged forwards and wrapped her arms tightly around her daughters form.

"Emma…" she whispered again, sending familiar chills down Emma's muscles. Yes muscles… she had those now. She had to develop something from all the running and fighting.

Muscles… she could feel her arms subconsciously squeeze her mother's waist against her.

She was no longer small and reached perfectly around her mother's waist, they were the same height. This made Emma smile… so close she thought.

"I'm just going to step out… you two should come in and..."

"Please…" Regina turned around to face him, eyes gentler then her previous expression.

He said nothing and nodded towards an already nodding Emma.

He quickly made his way out and away.

Emma faced her mother once again; as if it was just yesterday she'd stop and just stare at her… because she just could.

"Mother…" Emma looked down, realization hitting her… those days were gone.

"Please come in." Emma politely asks.

…..

Regina's hands begin to sweat like before… this is what she feared. That her daughter no longer needed her, wanted her… she wished the words that came out of Emma's mouth were quite the opposite… something on the line's of _"Let's go home."_ But that was not the case so far…

She took a step forward following Emma close behind and into her single apartment… She could not help but look her daughter up and down… Emma had grown. She was no longer this small child… she was Regina's height now and she had these arms she never imagined her little knight would have. It pained her to not get to see her grow… she'd missed it.

"Take a seat Regina…" Emma gently asked.

Regina? Why was Emma calling her this?! She looked away from Emma's possible gaze, turning to only find more pain… a single bed. Did this man live with her daughter?! Was Emma with this man?!

Regina did not know what to feel in this moment…

…

Emma began to shuffle all around the room, looking for something, ignoring her mother's possible pained face… she'd called her Regina because… because she needed to snap out of this enchantment quick… Or else Emma would fail.

"There it is." Emma speaks out loud, making her mother ask.

"There is what?" Regina's low voice making Emma shiver like when she was a child.

Emma confidently walks towards Regina, ignoring all her insecurities and not showing her mother any of it.

"This…" Emma places the large antique book in front of her mother, on the coffee table.

"What's this Emma?" Regina is scared to even ask. All she wanted was to talk to her daughter and hear her sweet words once again, like before.

"You tell me…" Emma opens the page to an image of Regina as the Evil Queen.

"Your majesty." Emma firmly states, she needed to know, then maybe… maybe she'd find some kind of hate and let go of her easier…

AT LEAST UNTIL SHE WAS READY.

Regina's eyes grow wide with horror, making Emma's chest hurt.

But Emma knew… no matter what; she'd always love this woman.


	16. Chapter 16

**Her child knew…**

Emma knew of a past, a past that she wanted to hide from not only Emma but herself. Emma knew a truth, a truth Regina intended to hide till her own demise. A truth that she indeed was evil… she was a murderer, a villain, a selfish being; she was the evil queen.

But the worst… the worst of all her harmful doings was what she did to Emma… It was sending Emma to an unknown land to die… making Emma an orphan, almost ripping away her happiness she hoped she had remade for her… she regretted nothing, everything she did gave her Emma… but still… what if she had not found her as an infant, that beautiful baby girl she held in her arms, that baby girl that she would give the world too. That beautiful girl that had grown up so much since then… that beautiful little girl she would give everything too… She could not lose Emma again, and her truth would surely make that inevitable. The pain crept in her chest…

"Regina..." Emma's 17 year old voice rings in her now heated ears, reminding her that she needed to respond, give Emma an answer.

"Emma..." Her name is all she can say.

Regina remains silent, not knowing how to say such a horrid truth, this was a truth, and a truth she felt needed to remain silent.

All she wanted was Emma to come back home with her... how was she suppose to accomplish this? If Emma knew... she'd...

How could she tell Emma all these things she's done... and Mary Margaret...

She was not telling Emma that Mary Margaret was her mother!

She was Emma's mother... She was Emma's happy ending.

Emma's happy ending... was she still Emma's happy ending? She no longer knows these answers; Emma can't even call her mother... why would she risk all she's made for Emma? Why would she build a bigger hole for herself?

"Are you not going to tell me mother..." Regina suddenly looks up to Emma's eyes... she can see the pain, the pain she also felt.

Where did this BOOK EVEN COME FROM?! No this was a lie... this was a fictitious joke, and that is what she would tell Emma. What did this book even have in it? What did it say?

"Emma... who gave you this?" Regina needed to know.

"That doesn't matter." Emma looks away, answer complete.

"What's in this book? What do you mean evil queen?" The lie was already coming out, Regina could not stop herself.

"Are you really asking this?" Emma looks pained, eyes wide.

"Emma, I can assure you my love... I do not know what you are asking of me." Regina looks directly at her child's older like eyes; she was still a teen... Regina could do this... she could bring Emma back.

"I've not read a thing mother... I stopped myself because... because I TRUST YOU!" Emma's voice yells broken.

Regina could feel her hands tighten around her skirt... she could not lose Emma again. She would not let it happen, even if it breaks her darkened heart...

Even if this breaks the enchantment Emma was in… that enchantment she'd repeatedly read about over the past 3 years… not understanding how this beautiful child could fall in this spell… this spell of loving her more then she should…. this spell that had certainly broken with time, if not now, soon after this…

She regretted nothing, everything she did gave her Emma… but right now she had to find a way to bring Emma home… a regret she would deal with later.

She'd lie… something she knew her daughter did not deserve, something that would potentially hurt Emma… but bring her back… certainly.

….

**(Emma)**

Her mother was nothing but silence… a face full of bland expressions, once in a while shaking her head at nothing… not even bothering to look at her. Not even bothering to look up at Emma's eyes, something she did so freely as she grew up… give her those words she so desperately needed to come back up from her falls…

"Did you hear me mother? I TRUST YOU!" Emma tries once more; it paining her that she even needs to say those words more than once.

Nothing… this beautiful woman she knew as her mother remained silent… her face screaming with no emotions.

Does she not remember what she means to me? The reason why I left… what she truly means to me.

The silent instantly rips through Emma's Pandora boxed heart, it daring her to say what she confessed not so long ago...

"Because... because I love you." She whispers the words her mother already knew, the words she had become so ashamed of.

Her mother's eyes finally look up from her trance and straight into Emma's, she was a deer caught in the headlights… almost identical to the night she last saw her… less fear.

Emma smiled sarcastically to herself… that was one good thing.

"Emma…" It seemed that was all her mother could say since their reunion.

"Regina…" she cannot help but close herself once again.

"Emma… that…" her mother's voice is fading.

"That what?" Emma looks directly at her mother's blinking eyes, what was she holding in those dark eyes of hers?

SLAM!

"That is enough Emma!" Her mother slams the book down at the table.

"This… all of this nonsense of an evil queen… that is all it is NONSENSE!" her mother's hushed voice quickly escalates in volume, the low assertiveness making its way.

She ignored her confession… nothing had changed had it? Emma could not help but think these things as her mother frantically spoke of lies… yes… lies… her mother did not know of her powers… that SHE COULD DETECT A LIE… AND RIGHT NOW… THAT'S ALL HER MOTHER WAS DOING….

This is why… this is why Emma was not ready. She could barely trust Neal… barely trust anyone… her mother was always an exception. But right now… right now that spell had been broken.

"Mom…" Emma quickly stands up, offering a shaking but strong hand on her mother's shoulder.

"Look… it's ok… you don't need to freak out ok, I understand." Emma face shows calm, deceiving what she truly felt... pain.

"Can we just… look can we just…" Emma's hands began to sweat; they always did when she was nervous. She was not going to get this chance again… at least not for a longer time.

"Can we just lay on my bed and… can it be like before?" Emma looks down, hoping her mother missed her enough to say yes.

She could not do this… She could not stand here and listen the only true thing in her life lie… she would not stand here and hear her mother avoid her scrawny little kids feelings and lie as if she were still 10! Right now… this is all she needed.

…..

**(Regina) **

"Oh Emma…" Regina could not help but feel her heart instantly recover; this is something she needed since… since…

"Emma, you have no idea…" Regina looks down, revealing a smile she thought she'd never show again.

"Do you remember I promised you a sleepover? Right before… Before you… before I…" Regina looks up, trying to recover her mistake.

"Yes." Emma cuts her off, saving her in the process.

"Can we just… can we just pick up where we left of Emma?" She needed this as much as Emma… she was certain. She needed to feel her baby in her arms once again.

Emma grabs her hand gently, pulling her softly towards the white sheeted bed… just like her bed at the mansion used to be… she could never use those sheets after Emma disappeared… it pained her so.

But right now, this was all she needed, the white sheets wrapping her and her daughter in a safe embrace.

Regina lays her head on the soft pillows; taking in the scent she'd missed so much… the scent of her girl, the scent of her innocent little girl…

Emma laid her head quickly into her chest… nerves apparent.

"It's ok Emma." Regina whispers.

"Mother…" Emma whispers as she takes Emma's strong arms and wraps them around her waist… just like then, when Emma needed her.

"Let's go home my darling…" Regina whispers as she feels Emma's breath hitch and slowly succumb to sleep.

And she soon follows not being able to help the euphoric yet peaceful feeling.

….

**(Emma) **

"Goodbye Mother." Emma whispered into the now darkened apartment. She stood in front of her pale skinned sleeping mother, the queen…. her queen.

She knew as soon as she'd asked, she was leaving again. She just needed… she just needed to feel her one last time… not like before.

She needed to have something to hold on to before she saw her again… something that would keep Emma going till the next time she found her…

"Emma." Neal peeked his head in through the door and into the apartment.

She'd told him she'd be out in a few, it had been thirty minutes that she'd just stared… not ready to say goodbye.

It was time… her and Neal were disappearing from this place, looking for something new. He didn't ask questions, he was a real friend.

She got all she could, her backpack and money… the money she'd gotten with her mother's jewelry… She squeezed the book she held in her hand. This was just like then…

"Goodbye my queen…" she slowly leans in just like before.

"I love you…" she whimpers, her lips not daring to kiss her lips in front of Neal's waiting eyes.

But as soon as her lips touch her mother's waiting cheek, a hand grabs her wrist.

"Just like before…" Emma cannot help but whisper this to her now awake and frightened mother.

"Emma... NO!" Regina is instantly panicking, her grip getting tighter.

"I'm sorry mother, I must…" Emma pushes with all her might, no magic to help.

"Neal help please!" Emma screams to his direction.

He quickly runs inside, pulling an anxious Emma and a now crying Regina.

"Emma pleeEEASE!" Regina whales, Emma's arm suddenly ripping out of her grasp.

Neal and her fall to the ground, the force of the pull sending them flying… the book is quickly released from Emma's hold.

She regretfully looks at it and quickly stands… she was leaving it behind.

"Common Neal, let's get out of here!" Emma and Neal quickly make their way.

But her mother was not going to let her get away as easily this time… Emma quickly feels an arm grasp the tip of her shoulder… but not succeeding to get a hold. She hears a hard thud, her mother was on the floor, failing to grab her and crawling her way towards her in tears…

"Emma why are you doing this!"

Emma's tears are now streaming… she could not handle seeing her mother like this.

"I'm in love mother… with Neal! and you... You are getting in the way of that, you are getting in the way of my happiness." she'd lied back.

Regina's tears are instantly halted… her eyes unreadable.

She needed to say anything, anything to make this easier… anything to make this easier for them both. At least her mother would not have to worry about one thing any longer… her disgusting feelings that would undoubtedly never change.

She had to go now… her mother's silence would soon come to an end. She did not wish to leave her on the ground but knew there was no good way to end this…

"I… I'm sorry Mother…" Emma quickly turns away her feet quickly pushing her away and instantly making her disappear from her mother's sight.

The last thing Emma could hear was a loud scream, her mother calling for Graham… she wouldn't find him. Neal took care of him.

And that was it… Emma and Neal were out of there, her heart already broken but her mind more eager than ever.

She'd keep growing. She would grow just like she'd vowed… she'd grow and show Regina there was no need for lies… that she was indeed a knight, and an adult, and maybe then… just maybe she would...

Even then… she would be strong enough to deal.


	17. Chapter 17

**She was gone…**

One minute her heart was complete, the next it was shattered as if she had never found her… as if she'd never held her again. Her child had vanished once again, just when she thought she had beaten fate, it ripped Emma away begrudgingly… and that boy, Neal…

She confusedly looked around the room that was Emma's. She'd been here several days waiting, waiting for a sign of Emma once again, just maybe… just maybe she'd return, iIf not today, tomorrow…. just maybe.

Graham, Graham had left the night Emma disappeared, searching for her anew.

She had found him outside the hall collapsed on the filthy floor, that boy… that boy had attacked him, hit him with a bat. Who was this boy? And why had Emma… why had she gone with him? Why had she chosen him?

She can't help but shake her head, shaking off the thoughts she'd never let herself think.

Emma would never choose anyone over her…

This boy… this man must have manipulated her daughter, it must be.

She can't help but tighten her fingers around the cursive book that caused this whole mess.

"Em…" she stops herself.

She cannot bear to say her daughter's name out loud. Three years, three years and counting… she has said that name over and over like a prayer, yet… yet she had gotten nothing.

It pained her too much.

She vowed the moment Emma did not turn back… she vowed she would never say that name again, not until Emma came back to her.

"Come back to me." She whispered to the ghost in this room. To her child's undeniable ghost… she'd been here for so long that her scent was still on these walls… she swore it. She could still smell her…

Her eyes begin to water; she still wonders where it all comes from.

Graham had went on searching while Regina stayed in Emma's single apartment… she'd been here five days, five days of walking around this lonely room, laying on Emma's sheets, and hoping that she'd come back to her.

Graham should be back by now, he said he'd go as far as 3 days would take him and he'd come back. He'd be staying here… this would be his new home, he'd wait as long as his life gave him… he'd search for Emma… he'd wait for her.

She'd wait for her… but right now, right now…

She could not stand being here any longer…. Disappointment came with every morning, sadness came with every day. She could not stand waiting any longer in this room. Her child was here all along, in this tight confined little room with this man she knew nothing of… this man whose belongings she'd snarl at just the sight of.

This man who was nothing but violent in her eyes… this man who…

_CRASH!_

She let the anger slip through, throwing her untouched glass of water, it crashing to the wall.

She did not know who this man was… and it was killing her more every day that Emma had not returned.

"_I'm in love mother… with Neal!"_

The memory replays, just like it had since she heard it… she kept hearing it… like a repetitive spell, those words kept echoing in her head.

She closes her eyes trying to forget… trying to forget that her happy ending no longer needed her. Something that Regina would never be able to feel… she needed Emma, and since she first held her, she knew Emma would always need her too… but this doubt, this doubt came rushing in as soon as she heard those words.

"_You are getting in the way of that, you are getting in the way of my happiness."_

Those words… Regina was supposed to be her happy ending, but now, now…

_Knock Knock!_

Regina's eyes go wide; maybe just maybe she still was…

"Emma, my love!" Regina practically screams, running towards the door.

She quickly turns the knob revealing Graham, nothing but Graham.

"You didn't find her." She looks down, already knowing the answer.

"No word Regina, but as you've requested I have returned after 3 days of searching and I am ready to dedicate however long and stay here till Emma returns, till I find her." He bows down, gently looking up for assurance.

"Graham… if anyone can do this, it's you." His eyes go wide. He had never heard the mayor speak in such a way, at least not to anyone but Emma. He had done well… a desire he did not know why he always looked for, he loved to succeed in task, it was almost like hunting. But his task was yet to be done.

His heart felt warmth, he knew Regina… it was not easy for her to talk like this to someone… he knew she needed him, and although he was certain they weren't friends, he saw this woman go through years of pain… it was time she smiled again.

One day this woman would see… he indeed cared, he indeed was a friend.

"I will find her Regina." She looked up, hope in him once again.

…..

After a quick goodbye and a long drive, she was back in Storybrooke. She had taken the book and some of Emma's belongings, things to keep her close.

She made her way down to her vault.

She would begin to read the book… she would begin to read the criminal records this curse of a book surely had on her. She'd read what this book had to say about her… nothing she had not heard before surely.

She would read this book and continue to wait…

She lets out a tired sigh, she was thankful this curse was not yet broken, her age would stay still, and she'd be ready… ready to be with Emma once again.

She hoped time would be kind and bring her back soon… time was all she had, because fate was practically nonexistent to now… it proved itself wrong.

She'd wait… she'd wait hopelessly.

And no matter how old, no matter how old Emma will be, Regina's arms will be waiting to have Emma inside of them once again.

Her dead heart almost feels alive at just the thought of it.

"Em…"

She shakes her head.

"No, not until I see you again."

…..

**(Neal and Emma)**

"She's what?!"

Neal screams towards the closed door of Emma's new room.

"How many times do I have too? She's an Evil Queen from an enchanted forest, she's my mother and… I am in love with her OKAY!" Emma screams from the other side, door locked shielding herself from her friend's possible gaze and horror.

"You're what?!" Neal's eyes bulge out of his head.

He shakes his head comically.

"Emma!" He knocks on the door.

"Let me in please." He begs, voice evidently concerned more then judgmental.

"I can't Neal… I can't trust anyone any longer, you are just going to run away and say my mother would never… and that I am just a crazy for even mentioning magic." Emma states, her voice now closer to the door.

"Emma you can trust me, I promise… look I need to tell you something."

The door slowly opens revealing a worried but curious Emma.

"What?" She whispers, tears in her face.

"I will tell you my truth…"

'Your truth?" Emma's eyes narrow in confusion.

"Neal what the hell, you're lying to me?!" Emma pushes him softly, her heart not knowing if it could handle another lie.

"No, not lying Emma… same thing you did, scared to tell a fact." He grinned, obviously not taken back by Emma's truth.

"Neal what is it? Are you in love with your dad?" Emma's eyes go wide, hoping that this was the reason why he wasn't reacting like she thought he would.

"Quite the opposite Emma…and you can call me Baelfire."


	18. Chapter 18

**It was her and Neal now…**

And it had been for some time.

But now was different, he knew her truth and she his, something she never thought she would have with someone, at least not after the journey she had been on.

They had stolen a car that night**… **the night they escaped, the night she left Regina once again. Regina, the one person she wanted all truths from, the one person she wanted anything from… but that night wasn't the time.

That night she just needed to run like before, and she needed to run fast.

They needed something to run, and a car was that option, so Neal and she did the only thing that would save them, save them? Save herself.

She wasn't ready that night; neither of them were.

Not her, not Regina.

REGINA… She couldn't seem to call her mother, even her thoughts said her name, but the word mother had been fading ever since she'd created that space between them, ever since time slowly took that title away… ever since Regina had lied to her. She was her mother none the less; she would always be that… they shared that blood, and all she could remember was Regina's arms, taking care of her. She was undeniably her mother, but time did not need DNA to rip this label away.

Love did not need DNA to rip away that label, to cross those uncrossed thoughts and lines.

She was Regina Mills, the women she had always loved… motherly and more, she was the woman she will always love.

Her lies did not matter… she'd grow and still urge to know the truth, and she would be there to listen and she'd be ready, it was just so damned painful and unfortunate that she was not ready now, or else she'd drive this old banged up yellow bug they stole back to that apartment, that apartment that was only just a few miles away.

It was just her and Neal now… her best friend; that was a title that time had given them.

Neal…

They were both somehow the same… he knew of lands that she had no clue existed, he was a runaway, and his father was also an evil sorcerer.

And they both needed to stay away from them…

It was for alternate reasons but the same outcome, they would be destroyed. Neal wanted nothing to do with his father Rumpelstiltskin, and she… she wanted nothing more than to be with and without her mother.

It made no sense to Neal, but it made complete sense to her, she needed to stay away and forget for now… the pain was to strong, she still had yet to grow and become what she wanted, for who she wanted.

She was stuck between being that strong older knight for her queen… or just giving up here, now.

Neal did not judge her, she liked that about him. He'd asked her out once, she told him she was gay, and he didn't even blink an eye, he accepted it, he accepted her.

Although he did say he had been to countless realms, being gay was not something out of the ordinary; he had laughed and told her she should see some of the couples in other realms, and that he completely understood her situation.

Neal… he was indeed her best friend now, nothing more.

To the naked eye, they seemed perfect for each other. They even shared a bed, something she saw her mother had noticed. Emma can't help but feel self-conscious about that…

She told her mother her and Neal were in love, she prayed to whatever God was real, she hoped her mother did not think what was inevitable to think… Emma was still a virgin, and that would never change, not until…

Emma shakes her head, something she caught from Regina, her mother.

She shakes her head shamefully… her virginity. Something she held very sacred, something her mother told her once to keep safe and sacred. Emma knew the things her body could feel, she was 17 now and her body had felt many things, she just could not get that image out… Regina. She… she could not think to give herself up to just anyone…. Regina… Regina had stolen not only her heart as a child, but her body as well… ever since puberty slapped her in the face… the day she saw her mother naked, that day it all unraveled, and as she grew her body desired only her…

She could only trust her… her mother after all, no one could hold her and caress her like her mother.

She squeezed her hands on her knees where she sat, the balcony.

She could turn back at any time, and just…

"No."

She needed more time; she needed to break this spell. She would get nowhere like this… she needed to grow now and not let her emotions control her.

….

"Oh Regina…" Ruby patted her shoulder kindly, something she desperately needed since that night.

"But Emma is okay dear, which counts for something child." Granny quickly adds, handing her a cup of warm tea to sooth her stressed face.

"I know… it does, but…" but Emma did not, Emma did not need her any longer, she left her…. and that boy.

"But what?" Ruby raises a concerned eyebrow, Regina had yet to share any information about the boy… she would not shame Emma's name.

Emma…

That was the only name she could call her… ever since, ever since her child was ripped away by fate, not once, but twice.

Emma… even her mind thought it, instantly replacing it with her daughter's name.

"But Emma does not need me any longer…" she could feel her warm tears involuntarily fall.

If she thought Daniel was pain, her mother not loving her was pain, her father not protecting was pain… this, her daughter not wanting her, her daughter not needing her was agony.

"That's not true Regina; you're a wonderful mother I mean look at you! You literally abandoned a town to go and find your daughter, and you have a man working for you 24/7 on the clock searching for her. Emma needs you… she's just a teen right now, who knows what she's really going through ya know?" Ruby tries to convince her…. but Ruby did not know, no one did, no one knew what a disgusting mother she was, letting her child fall in love with her… and lying to her face about who she really is.

"You just don't understand…" Regina turns away, looking at her bed, her sheets, the sheets she took from Emma's apartment, she'd placed them on her bed once she'd arrived, she needed to smell her… she needed something.

"Look, how about you take a few days off, you've been buried in your work these past couple of days right after this happened to you… and it's time you think about yourself child, rest, we will be here tomorrow." Granny almost demands.

"I think I will do that…" She stares directly at the sheets, as if they were calling her.

…..

Sleep finally ravished her body, forcing her sad eyes shut.

She had not been able to sleep since she got back… work took over; it helped keep her mind clean, it helped her forget last weeks occurrences.

Her mind was finally shut, the only thing present now darkness.

It's what she needed, and empty dark room in her mind… with no memory of…. of…

"No…" she spoke in her now dreamlike state, mumbling out loud.

Emma, Emma's face started to fade out of that dark haze she called sleep, her dream had begun and it was not going to be good… she regretted sleep right away.

"_Regina…"_

"_Emma?"_

"_I do not need you mother." Emma's beautiful teenage smile came to view, her words not matching her expression._

"_But Emma, I'm your mother!" Regina screamed, she felt it echo through the walls that surrounded them, instantly changing the scenario to a new one._

"_I… LOVE… NEAL… REGINA." Emma looks away, a man's hand grabbing her arm._

"_She's mine now lady." He tells her possessively._

"_How dare you lay a hand on…" Her mouth is instantly shut, a piece of tape appearing on her mouth, not letting her finish._

_The room fades black and she is walking through a familiar hall. She is now outside her room… the familiar door closed, her rooms door closed._

_She can feel fear and dread, she did not want to open this door… but then she felt a pull, Emma!_

_She worriedly shoves the door open revealing a 12 year old Emma in between… in between._

_It was that night, the night EMMA HAD…_

_But it was not her legs Emma was I between but… Neal._

"_Get away from my daughter!" Regina screams menacingly, running towards them._

_But as soon as she grabs his arms furiously Emma is no longer Emma…. But 17 year old Emma, and she is on top of this man, her face worried, her naked body grabbing his naked shoulder protectively._

"_What are you doing?" Emma's eyes are scared, she holds onto him tighter._

"_I love him mother, I won't let you hurt him!" She screams protectively._

_She looks herself down; her outfit is now none other than one of her infamous Evil Queen gowns…_

"_YOU'RE EVIL!" Emma screams. _

"_Emma honey I…" she feels her tears fall, her chest clenching, it did not feel right to see her daughter and this man…_

"_Stay away!" Emma screams again._

_Regina suddenly feels a force so strong she closes her eyes, it goes through her chest and straight through her mouth…_

"_BUT I LOVE YOU!" It was just like… it was just like that night, that night Emma confessed… but this time it was her own voice…_

"_I love Neal mother… " Emma whispers._

_Regina's eyes are still wide from her own confession._

"_And besides, you are nothing but the evil queen." Emma looks away from her eyes, facing Neal lovingly._

"_Emma no… wait!" Regina lunges forward landing on nothing but a cold floor, a floor that looked like her kitchen…. It was her kitchen._

_It was no longer her room, it was her kitchen… why was she…_

_That is when she sees that face, those piercing blue eyes and strong jaw… it was that woman again… it was…_

"_Emma?" She whispers to the laying figure next to her…_

"_My Queen…" Her pain instantly vanishes, a feeling she had not felt in so long overtaking her… happiness._

_This woman grazes her tear stained cheeks lovingly, cleaning them away._

_She looks down shyly… and that's when she gets a clear view, the cold floor… they were both lying on the cold floor naked, a blanket wrapped around their legs…_

_Her cheeks go red, realization hitting her…._

_They were naked on the floor, holding one another and… this was… _

"_Regina?" Emma gently lifts her chin, making her look into those eyes._

"_I love you…" She leans in her lips so close…._

…

THUD!

"EMMA!" Regina is instantly woken by a loud thud and a sudden pain on her right hip.

She had fallen out of bed, something that never happened.

The floor… all memories of her dream begin to flood in…

"NO!" Regina yells into the empty house, this helped in no way.

She could not… she could not…

She did the only thing her currently out of state mind could think of…

She clumsily picked up her phone and dialed his number…

"Hello?" She felt instant relief.

"Archie? I need to your help… something is wrong with me."


	19. Chapter 19

**The lighthouse, Emma had found the lighthouse.**

She was finally ready, she was finally here… just a few more steps and she'd cross that invisible red line, she remembered the color like it was yesterday; the day she ran away and crossed that line, not knowing it'd disappear right in front of her eyes, encouraging her to not return.

Graham…

Graham had found her once again just days before her big decision, it took him eleven years… eleven long dreaded years but he found her.

Graham… what did Regina ever see in him? She could not help but wonder.

It took him so long to find her... what a sheriff he was. But she was long over those childish feelings, he did good.

As a bail bonds person not just anyone could find her… and he did, she gave him credit that's for sure. And he did help her find her way back to Storybrooke, informing her of the lighthouse Regina had built in case of her return.

Eleven years, one hundred thirty two months, and 4017 anxious days, days that were permanently gone and impossible to get back, but she learned to be okay with that.

She was 28 now, a street smart, strong, educated woman… She decided right after her second runaway stunt that she'd educate herself somehow; she read all the books the library had to offer, as well as the internet, she was sure she did not need school with her knowledge of reading…. And as for a career?

Bail bonds… she found people that no one could find, and she'd bring them down, not just anyone could do this job, especially a woman… or so society thinks.

She was your regular modern day knight…. At least that's what Neal would tell her.

She knew this wasn't true… she did the job she was good at; she didn't see herself anywhere near a knight, let alone a sheriff. This wasn't what she had in mind as a child… but it got her and Neal by, and on some days… it helped her forget that name.

Besides, Emma knew Neal was just saying that to get her to go home… he had confessed a couple years back that he felt guilty helping her escape her mother… insisting that she was no evil queen if she actually cared enough to look for her… something his father would have never even considered.

Was she a knight? No. Was she an adult now? Yes.

But all those things she vowed to be as a teen, disappeared with time… she was just Emma now, and the only reason she had been contemplating on her return was the void… the undeniable void she'd been feeling. Every night she'd lay her head on that pillow, every day she'd drink her hot chocolate with cinnamon, the cinnamon Regina would lovingly add to her hot chocolate as a child, and last… every time she'd see a mother and her child… she would feel it, the emptiness.

She's pictured so many scenarios in her head… Regina slapping her being one of them. Emma deserved that, she put that woman through hell...

That woman…

Some days she'd forget she actually had a mother... only thinking of Regina.

The title quickly began to disappear as she matured… all she could think of was this woman who raised her and gave her love… a love no one could ever give her.

As for her decision… it was quickly made for her as soon as Graham knocked on her door 2 days prior, and she sort of thanked him for that…. All she wanted now, before she'd scurry away was to ask for Regina's forgiveness… the pain in Regina's face still tore her apart some nights… seeing that woman on the floor crawling her way in pain was something Emma desperately wanted to erase… along with so many other things….

As for her desires? She locked those away long ago… she wasn't sure what she would feel once she'd see her.

All she knew is she was tough enough now… tough enough to be lied too, tough enough to survive what was to come… whatever that was.

So here she was….

Just a few more steps and she'd be in Storybrooke once again; just a few more steps and she'd be home.

"Well Emma, are you ready to go home?" Graham smiled leaning down her yellows bugs window. He'd led the way for them… and now stood outside her car encouragingly.

All she could do was nod sternly, not wanting to show her definite quivering voice.

"Let's go." He sternly said back.

She felt a tight squeeze on her right hand… Neal was dreading this just as bad, he hoped his father had nothing to do with this curse.

"We can do this Emm…." He whispers gently.

"Even if we couldn't, I have to do this… it's time" she whispered back.

She fiercely puts her car on Drive, her wheels turning, burning the concrete and quickly passing the town line… so quick that she doesn't realize the parked car right in front of the invisible town line… and is instantly met full force with… with that black car! Her eyes grow wide realization dawning on the few seconds she has, right before the inevitable impact she looks to her left side seeing Storybooke's familiar trees and… and Regina laying flowers on the edge of the town line… were those for her? and almost in slow motion, that is the last thing she sees when….

"Emma watch out!"

_CRASHHHH!_


	20. Chapter 20

**She hadn't had those dreams in years…**

5 years to be exact.

She had Dr. Hopper to thank for that… well that and a couple of potions to stop her from dreaming. She hadn't had a dream about Emma in a very long time… but then again, she hadn't had any dreams at all. She missed them. At least the ones where Emma came back to her... but it was necessary, the ghost of that terrible thing would haunt her… those feelings that suddenly crept into her cursive head, and made their way into her dreams… thoughts and feelings that she did not dare think or feel when she was awake.

Those dreams were not real, and now they were non existing.

Archie explained to her that it was just a traumatic experience that happened, and is most likely an effect of loss, that she had nothing to fear and worry about, that her only concern now should be taking care of herself and being productive in the town once again; something she had been lacking ever since she came back.

Archie, Ruby and Granny had become a sort of distraction from all this, helping her forget that Emma was not coming back, they'd become almost friends... No, they were friends, she would never admit that out loud to them, but that is what they had become, just the way she took care of Emma… these people had been taking care of her, making sure she didn't crumble.

Her friends…. Those friends she had cursed, those friends that were still cursed.

They could never find out what a terrible thing she had done to them, or else she would surely have nothing to be awake for…

Awake… she had a sleeping curse ready just for her, hidden in her vault, in any case that the town found that horrible book and wanted her dead.

Yes, dead… even her "friends" would surely want her death… because she would surely want them dead if the stories were reversed. No Emma… no friends… all she would have was sleep.

She quickly closed the book, her train of thoughts and worries gone. She placed it back in its place, a place no one would ever dare look.

Ruby, granny and her had a date this morning; coffee, a small chat, and straight to work. It was a routine she was very fond of… it was the only thing she was fond of.

Because after Ruby and Granny, she could get back to work and pretend… pretend everything was okay.

…..

"Regina." It was Mary Margaret.

Regina could no longer roll her eyes at this woman… she did after all call on a search while she had gone searching for Emma. She knows it wasn't for her, but for Emma… and that was enough to stop herself from hating the woman any further.

Hating was something Regina had no space for in her life… all she really did now was work and… work. She had no time to dream and imagine her child, no… Emma, Emma coming back to her.

"Ms. Blanchard." Regina smiled the best she could.

"I saw you earlier at Granny's, you looked good… I mean you looked… okay." Mary Margaret stumbles on her words nervously, making Regina roll her eyes either way.

"Mary Margaret it's okay, you don't have too…" Her monotone voice is instantly cut off by Mary Margaret pushing a bouquet o flowers forward and against her chest, flowers she hadn't noticed till now… they were yellow like Emma's hair… and red like her apples…. They were…

"I thought I'd give these too you… I read a book on dealing with the loss of a child and thought you could…"

"Excuse me?" Regina stops her abruptly.

"Emma isn't dead Mary Margaret, she just… she..." Regina did not know how to answer…. Was she lost? Was she a runaway? Was she….

"Regina…" Mary Margaret began to say.

"It's Ms. Mills…" Her eyes famously narrow.

"I apologize Madam Mayor, look just… put them somewhere special… somewhere where you feel you connect with her… her room, Granny's Diner, the park, the library…" Snows eyes began to water, realization making its way into Regina's memory.

Snow had obviously put some of her own down at the library, she saw them once a year on no specific date… she understood this now, and Snow was NOT going to be the only one doing this from now on. She quickly grabbed the bouquet and walked away sharply… she would find her own spot and prove to be the better mother, the only mother.

And just maybe… maybe this would somehow bring more peace to her shattered and empty heart.

…

The town line, the line that separated her and Emma… this would be the perfect place; she hoped it'd somehow bring them back together instead of dividing them any further.

This was the place that would bring her back... the entrance to their home.

She drove blindly… her heart taking her forward, she did not even bother moving her car out of the road, she just stopped right in front of that line, leaving the keys in the ignition and slowly walking out to the side by some green growing grass.

Nostalgia hit her slowly, just like time in this moment.

The green grass was growing… growing, she had missed it all.

"Emma... please…" she began to say a wish, a wish that she knew would not be granted, something she swore she would never try again.

"Come back to me my little knight." She whispered softly, hoping the breeze would somehow pull her words into the other side and straight to her desire.

She gently places the flowers down by the town line feeling an almost complete feeling, until she is suddenly ripped away from her silent wishes and pulled into a loud sound of crashing metal , a sound so loud that her ear drums are painfully ringing, she turns to her left following the aggressive collision, a yellow coffin on wheels now totaled in front of her eyes, her car getting the least of the damage, but her car did not matter right now because the next thing she sees is a grey car pulling up next to the collision, and the next thing she sees is…

"Graham?!" She quickly reaches his ears, his eyes turning from pleased to see her, to horror.

What was he doing here? And who were these people he quickly ran out of his car for?

"Madam Mayor! Please… please stay where you are." He puts his hands up as to stop her from moving towards them.

"Graham what are you talking about… who are these people and where have you…." Realization hits her in the gut.

This car, these people, Graham being here… he could only return if… if…

"Emma!" Regina's shriek voice fills the now silent air.

She hastily runs towards the smoking car, leaving behind a heel in the process.

Nothing matters at this moment, not Graham, not Mary Margaret, not her dreams… just Emma.

She ran not fearing the fire that was bound to inflame at any moment now, and as soon as she got to that crushed door her heart skips a beat in horror and awe.

This was the woman in her dreams… this was the Emma she'd predicted!

There with her head to the side unconscious, laid a beautiful blonde headed woman with a gash on her head the blood still flowing…

She forced herself to blink away this revelation and get her daughter to safety, she somehow pulled the door open, as if she still had her magic and tightly grabs a hold of Emma's arms, pulling her out of her vehicle and away from any further danger.

Graham quickly makes his way next to her, dragging an unconscious Neal down next to them.

"Madam Mayor, it's Emma… I've brought her back."

Her eyes water as she quickly rips a part of her blouse placing it on Emma's head.

"Sheriff, your job's not done yet, CALL AN AMBULANCE NOW!" She demands urgently.

"Already on it Mayor Mills!" He quickly gets up and does his job.

"Emma, you came back to me… please don't go." Regina's eyes water uncontrollably.

And as if on cue, just like when she first held her… Emma's body responds, she stirs roughly, slowly squinting an eye open.

That's when she hears that voice, that low and almost silent voice…

"My queen…" Emma whispers as if Regina were a mirage.

Regina's eyes grow wide… Emma falls limp in her arms, unconscious once again.

And once again, Regina's dreams become predictions.


	21. Chapter 21

**She was so tired of waiting… **

She'd been waiting 11 years, 11 years for her child to return… this woman to return. But now they just had her waiting more… she needed to be in that room with Emma, she needed to get up from this seat and…

"Mayor Mills." Finally she takes a breath out, a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"Dr. Whale what is taking so long?!" She quickly gets up and stares him up and down, doubting his profession.

"It was quite a complication Ms. Mills, these things cannot be rushed." He reminds her.

"She has a concussion and had to get a few stitches." He looks down reviewing his pad, making her impatiently tap her heel on the waiting rooms floor.

"And?" she nervously asks, dreading the worst, already waiting for fate to torture her somehow.

What would happen now, memory loss? Her heart clenched, at least then Emma would have a reason to forget her.

Fate… her fate was almost inevitable. Pain.

"Emma will be fine, she is out of harm's way… she's awake now if you'd like to."

"Please just take me to her." Regina interrupts him once more, relieved to hear there was nothing else to add to her list of punishments. Punishments for being an Evil Queen…

"You may see her as soon as you'd like, but you did not let me finish, do you not want to know about Emma's friend, the complication we had?" It was that man, that manwho helped her daughter escape that night, it was Emma's boyfriend…. If that is what he still was.

"That… that is none of my business." She answers to herself more than Whale.

"It sort of is Mayor Mills. You see Emma is not in a good state of mind at the moment, she needs to rest and take it easy, and from what I understand that is her companion is it not? You must let her know, she will take the news better than I could ever explain… unless you'd prefer me to give her the information?" He responds like the smart ass he has always been, even without his memories he taunted her.

"What was the complication?" She questions, ignoring his insolent response.

"The impact was so harsh that his brain is now swollen, we've tried bringing the swelling down but we've had no luck… as of now, Neal Cassidy is in a coma."

Regina looks down not knowing what to feel… this man was one of the reasons her daughter had not returned, he was… he had stolen her away from her, and He had possibly done things to her that she could not bear to think of… things she spoke to Emma about as a child… things she spoke of to Emma as an almost teen… things she feared for her daughter, things that were taken from Regina… things she hoped weren't taken from Emma.

Her heart palpitated faster and her palms began to sweat, she felt something she had not felt since… since she left that night so long ago… the night she discovered Emma and this man.

But she could not… she could not think of such things, she could not feel such things, she'd stopped them long ago, along with her dreams, those forbidden dreams.

This man… he saw her beautiful teenage daughter become a woman, and she'd missed it all... he stole that from her.

If she were in the enchanted forest she'd…

But there was no sense in wanting him dead; she had enough reasons for Emma to hate her.  
All that mattered now was Emma being home, Emma was here now.

She would be there for Emma, just the way she'd always been. She'd comfort her and be her shoulder... Just like when she was a little girl, that girl that still needed her.

"I will talk to her…" her anger subsides, calmly answering Dr. Whale.

"Oh and Regina…" He looks at her seriously.

"Yes Dr. Whale?" She lifts an eyebrow up.

"I'm glad she's back." He smiles the most he can, and quickly walks away, letting her take it in.

"Emma is back." She smiles to herself.

...

_Knock knock!_

Emma's dazed eyes look towards the hospital room's door, she hoped it was Neal...

She needed to someone familiar she needed...

"Oh no…" she let a stressed breath go.

She'd done it again, she let it slip… not even 5 seconds in town and she'd called her queen…

"Common Emma… you're not a kid anymore." She tells herself quickly.

She really hoped it wasn't, it wasn't…

The doorknob softly turns, the door slowly opening.

Regina...

It was too late; she could no longer feign sleep, she could no longer leave town.

"Emma." She could see the ageless woman's eyes begin to water as soon as she spoke her name.

Only she could say that name and make it sound so special…

She squeezes her eyes shut, regretting her thoughts instantly… she was not that person anymore, she was Emma, bail bonds Emma, strong, adult Emma.

She hears Regina's elegant but tentative walk making her way next to her, she could feel that warm heat just inches away.

"Emma… it's Mom." There it is, what she feared.

She opens her eyes wanting to narrow them towards this woman, but failing as soon as she lays her eyes on her up close.

"Regina…" Mom was no option for her; it only reminded her of what she lost. What she let go of so long ago.

She could see hurt hazel eyes land on Emma's hands… she knew what her mother, what Regina wanted… to hold it, to hold her now same sized hand and pretend everything was just like then, just like before she tore them apart, before she ripped that title "Mom" away… before she forced herself on her, before she was ever even worthy… worthy?

Here it comes, the insecurities… her reasons… she was already thinking like before she left, she was already thinking of the impossibilities… this woman would never love her, not in the way she thought she did… the way she forgot she did… it was all coming back and she did not want it!

"Ah." Her head suddenly throbs, an instant ache appearing.

"Emma!" Regina places her hands suddenly on Emma's scratched face and gently cradles it.

"What is it?" she asks in panic.

She could never worry her Mother… yes, that's what she was wasn't she, and she could not help to be.

"My head … " Emma breathes out.

"Let me get Whale in here." She quickly stands up and frantically looks for the buzzard to call for help.

"Mom, MOM!" Emma lets go, trying to calm her… she wasn't that little girl anymore and she would show Regina… she would show her mother that.

Regina's eyes are wide, like if she'd heard an infant say the words Mom for the first time.

"I'm okay Regi… I'm okay Mom." Emma smiles warmly, as if no time had passed.

Regina's tears slide down her pale cheeks…

"Oh Emma." Regina quickly makes her way towards her bed, impatiently wrapping her soft arms around her tightly… warmly.

"I've missed you too." Emma whispers, extending her muscular arms around her in return.

She feels something she'd always wanted… a perfect fit.

After a few minutes of utter bliss Emma let's go, realizing something was wrong.

Neal would have been here by now, making sure Emma could deal, but he wasn't…

The crash! Neal was with her and….

"Where's Neal?!" Emma questions in a panic.

Not noticing Regina's face fall, hating the fact that she'd ended the moment over her most important thoughts. Neal.

…


	22. Chapter 22

**Red and Granny were here…**

How, how did they know? She hadn't told anyone, she hadn't said a word about Emma being back; the town's most beloved child had returned, Regina's most beloved had returned, how did they...

She was surprised to see both Granny and Red as soon as she'd walked out of Emma's room; they both looked slightly disheveled, both still wearing their work aprons.

"Who told you?" Regina questions, eyes wide with curiosity and concern. She did not need a mole, she did not need everyone to come interrupt her and Emma's reunion, she needed time… time to be just her and Emma once again.

"Common Regina, in this town word gets out quick... You know that."  
Ruby warmly answers an aggravated Regina.

"Ruby, I just need too…" Regina's stressed words begin to come out.

But she is suddenly cut off by a soft pat on her shoulder, granny.

"But if you'd like to know it was Whale, he called Ruby up right as soon as he got out of the hospital." Granny responded, quickly relaxing Regina.

"Ugh, that man… Ruby I still don't know what you see in him." Regina rolls her eyes, all worry gone. She knew Whale would only ever tell Ruby, no one else really mattered to that annoying man.

"Your secret is safe Regina, and Whale is just a really, really good friend." Her voice suggests a double meaning.

"Enough of this, I do not need to know. How is the child? How is Emma?" Granny cuts all small talk, wanting to know of the child she once helped raise and cherished deeply.

Ruby's face turns serious. As soon as they'd heard the news of Emma return and accident they closed down the diner and made their way to their Mayor's side.

Granny and Ruby knew more than anyone, Emma was the only real cure to their friends heartbreak.

Regina lets out a tired breath.

"Emma, she's…"

"Regina…" Her mouth closes abruptly to the sound of an unforgettable pained voice saying her name behind her.

Her eyes grow wide, accompanied by Granny and Ruby's loud gasps.

She turns around swiftly, seeing an almost crouched Emma trying her best to stay standing.

"Emma what are you!" Regina quickly steps forward grabbing Emma's arms, holding her steady. Almost like when she taught her how to walk… She wouldn't let anything harm her this time; she would make up for all the lost time.

"Emma answer me, why are you outside your room!" Part of Regina hoped it was because she'd missed her, but she knew it was…

"Neal…" Emma's groggy voice responds.

Regina's heart faints but her feet stay standing strong.

At least she trusted her enough, enough to find her, and her only.

…

"Please Regina, take me to his room… I need to…" Emma is cut off by a familiar voice, a voice that she remembered was a source of comfort as a child.

"Emma child… we've got you." Granny and Ruby are suddenly helping Regina in keeping Emma off her feet, Granny has a hold of Emma's back and Ruby her other arm.

"Yeah kid, we are here." Ruby confirms.

"Look at you Emma, all grown up. Remember us, the adults? Looks like we still need to carry you!" Ruby smiles playfully.

"Ughhh." Emma grumbles in response, stronger pain in her head.

"Ruby!" Regina shushes her with a disapproving nod.

"Sorry Regina, I'm just happy to see the little bugger, well the big bugger." Ruby apologizes quickly.

"You two are friends?" Emma lift her fallen head to look at them banter, her eyebrows arching and her heart confused. What had she missed?

"Shhh, Emma… don't talk sweetheart. Ruby and I will get you to bed and we will see what we can do to get you to that man… to Neal." She corrects, looking away in embarrassment, horrified that Emma might have heard her anger…. Her jealou…

The running nurses cut her red cheeks off…

"We've got her from here Mayor Mills." The nurse replies, trying to take Emma from her arms.

"No!" Regina yells to the already frightened nurse.

"I'm sorry… she needs me, and… I'll take her back; you just worry about getting her to Neal's room later." Regina tones down her voice, there was no need for anger, not in front of Emma.

"Thank you…" Emma mumbles already dozing off in their arms… in her arms. Emma had seemed to forgotten Ruby and Granny were there holding her up and leaned her head towards Regina's chest.

"So cute." Ruby hums with content, obviously happy for her friends.

"Ruby shush, common help me here." Regina shyly looks at an already dozing Emma.

They gently walk Emma back and lay her in bed, not having to worry about an anxious Emma… she was sound asleep as soon as they'd lay her on the bed.

"Let's go child, we should let her be." Granny squeezes Regina's hand, reminding her Emma will not go away again, she was here.

…...

"Thank you you two…. I was going to tell you about Emma, it's just… I needed time with her… I needed."

Regina tries to explain her previous concern over who had told them.

"It's alright Regina, we get it." Ruby responds knowingly.

"You two have a lot of catching up to do and don't need the towns people on your ass." Granny states seriously.

"Thank you." Regina's eyes water, why had she cursed these two?

"Well we will let you be Mills, call us if you need anything, we've got you." Ruby comes forward hugging her first, Granny quickly joins.

"I will." Regina squeezes them both back.

…...

It's been a whole day and Emma was yet to be awake, Ruby had texted her if she needed clothes, but Regina said she'd be fine.

A loop kept playing in her head… that man, Neal, Emma seemed to really need him.

She needed him as much as she herself needed Emma… she had never seen her daughter be so frantic over someone who wasn't… someone who wasn't herself.

Emma was back… yet she still felt her Emma was gone.


	23. Chapter 23

**2 weeks gone by…**

She wasn't leaving his bed side. She had fully recovered a few days ago and hasn't left his room since. Regina… she was… she was as perfect as she remembered.

She had been taking her to Neal's room ever since her panic 2 weeks prior; she said she wasn't letting her get hurt again.

She was just as she remembered; Regina would never let anyone hurt her… Regina was always a knight of her own, no… a Queen of her own.

Emma shakes her head, something she'd been doing so much of since she got back, so much unwanted but desired thoughts.

She squeezed his hand tightly, hoping he'd open his eyes real soon.

"Please Neal, I can't do this without you…" Her eyes water.

She needed her friend… she needed her best friend.

She could not be alone with that woman, not until he was awake. He'd help her stay steady; he'd help her stay on track…

She'd hardly really talked to Regina… just a thank you here and longing smile there, She had noticed the pain it caused her mother, but… she needed to remind herself that this was best, she was on the verge of saying the wrong things, on the verge of pushing her away for their own good, or pushing her towards the nearest wall and breathe her in, breathe her in like a dog that hadn't seen its owner in days.

"Neal, please… I need you." She whispers to what she thought was an empty room.

"Hem…" She hears a familiar husky voice clearing her throat.

She turns to see the one person she needed more than Neal but could not show it.

Yes… she needed this woman that stood right behind her, nervous eyes looking straight at her, apologetic and… sad? eyes looking at her.

"Mom." Emma calls her by that name, it hurting slightly every time.

"I'm sorry to walk in on you in… such a private moment." She narrows her eyes, those eyes she remembered her giving to so many people but her… and now?

"Regina?" She would ask, it's the least she could do… it was better than saying nothing but hello and thank you.

"Yes Emma?" her eyes slightly widen, taking in her own name, like she'd never heard it before.

"Are you okay? You seem… upset?" Emma's voice goes up an octave, she was never great at expressing her feelings… especially with woman her were so…. Her mother was always… beautiful.

No, no… regal.

"I…" her eyes look away and back nervously, just like that one time long ago when she'd asked her why she hated her teacher.

Mary Margaret… she'd remind herself to see her soon.

"It's okay, just making conversation. You don't really have to answer me…" Emma interrupts whatever answer was coming. It was hard to be like before… so trusting of one another… it hurt, but that door was closed when she stepped out that town line, when so many people betrayed her, when Emma ruined the one relationship that meant everything… when her mother refused to tell her about the book.

The book, she still remembered… she'd get to that eventually, no matter what happened now… she'd find out what her mother was so scared of… that was undeniably on her to do list.

Regina was still silent, she hadn't responded… Emma wondered if she was coming up with a lie. Or maybe she'd have the same thoughts as she…

All these thoughts… these thoughts she tried to ignore for months and years… this was a consequence of her return, but Neal… he really pushed… and they were here, with her.

"I'm okay." Her mother finally responds.

"Took you kind of long to, just be okay Regina?" Emma responds smartly, she definitely wasn't a kid anymore.

"I…" Regina looks around frantically, not expecting that response. Emma knew she probably expected the warm and fuzzy love struck child as before… but no, Emma was 28, she was an adult and that child was gone.

Suddenly she hears those heels clatter towards her, Regina's eyes nothing but serious, the regal woman she knew present again.

"What are you?" It was Emma's turn to look around frantically, eyes wide.

She feels those soft well manicured hands reach for her strong arms; she cannot help but flinch… her mother's eyes saddening, but quickly shaking it off.

She ignores Emma's discomfort, and grabs her nearest hand… lifting it towards her cheek, pressing it gently against it… just like when Emma would reach for it on her own.

Regina closes her eyes, lingering on the familiar touch, the touch she herself had to initiate.

"Emma please, you need to stop this…" Regina's speaks eyes closed, almost as if she were to be talking more to the hand against her cheek, then to her.

"Stop what…" Emma whispers, voice shivering… her eyes watering instantly, she knows what Regina is talking about, but she can't…

"Emma… please, talk to me…. open the door." Emma closes her eyes; Regina's words making her grab her chest with the only hand she can use.

"I'm your Mother and…"

Emma's eyes open, breaking the spell. Yes… her mother, she needed to remember that line.

Emma's hand slips out of Regina's gently, forcing Regina to open her eyes.

Regina's eyes begin to glisten with unshed tears, her lips forming a sentence that makes Emma's head reel.

"I need you."

Regina whispers, her voice broken.

She cannot handle it, just like when she was a child, she could not handle seeing her mother so upset….

Emma's body takes immediate control, all fear pushed aside.

Her hand subconsciously grabs a hold of Regina's arm and pulls her towards her and against her chest, her arms engulfing the woman she'd long to hug ever since she'd learned how.

She tightly squeezes, pouring everything she'd felt since she'd ran away. The loneliness, the fear, the longing… all of it… all she needed was her mother, but she hid that because she felt she did not deserve it, she felt she'd lost it… she was scared to feel those things, she was scared to not be enough…

All those things… and all she ever needed was her mother, Yes! Her mother, that was what she was, no matter what she felt, what horrible things she felt, she still had a mother… and she'd been missing that since she'd left.

Emma cannot contain a wrenching cry, a cry she'd withheld for so long… a cry that was meant for only Regina to hear… it was a cry for her.

"Mom!" Emma slides down, her head now buried in Regina's chest, her muffled cries hiding in Regina's blouse.

"Oh Emma…" Regina's arms push Emma deeper into her chest, her own tears falling on Emma's blonde locks.

Regina had found the key… and Emma was okay with that, she was.

She'd always had it… but Neal, he was right… she needed to come back to feel…. To feel okay again.

The door had not been opened, that was something neither of them were quite ready to face… but soon, soon they'd have too, but right now all that mattered to Emma was this…. She needed this.

Her thoughts are quickly interrupted by a soft hand rubbing her head, and her mother's voice humming pleasant words.

Words she never thought she'd be happier to hear.

"Let's go home Emma? I promise we'll come see Neal later, but right now… I think we need too…"

"Yes." Emma quickly replies, her eyes peeking out from Regina's chest.

"Let's go home." She repeats to a now smiling Regina, that smile she hadn't seen in so long, that rue smile, that Emma knew only she could put on this woman's face.


	24. Chapter 24

**It was as if time had stood still…**

The mansion, their home, it was just like when she'd left it.

Her mother had not changed a single thing; every portrait, every award, and every piece of furniture were all intact and in the exact same place as when she last saw them… as if her mother had not been staying here, as if her mother had ran away as well, as if she'd…

The sudden sound of her mother's heels approaching her snap her out of her inevitable observation.

"Emma, are you okay?" Regina asks softly, a glass of lemonade in hand.

She gently presses the lemonade into her soft un-manicured hand, at the same time extending a timid hand on her shoulder.

"Emma?" She tries to sound patient.

"Regina…" Emma takes a sip, encouraging herself to try and open up like she had at the hospital. It was hard but… for her mother, she'd try harder.

She had so many questions, but she was dreading all the answers she'd get.

One of those questions… Had her mother really avoided this house? Had Regina avoided their home because of her? Did it pain her to be in this house knowing she once lived in it? Her chest tightens and the sudden answer to her thoughts.

She wasn't going to assume anything… she wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to run into her mother's arms like just an hour ago… she felt like that child again, that needy child that needed to comfort her mother 24/7… she was an adult now, she.. She would ask!

"Mom." Emma finally looks into those concerned eyes, but not before quickly staring at the lingering hand on her shoulder, how long had that been there, she wondered.

"Yes my love?" Oh shit, the pet names, Emma swallows the already nervous lump. How does an adult's hands get sweaty this quick? She grips her lemonade tighter… the pet names, God… she missed those so much… she… Damn it!

"Ugh!" Emma grumbles to herself.

"Emma, what is it?" Regina asks impatiently.

She was not going to run into those arms… it was too quick to be just like before. She wasn't 10, and she was not going to run.

"Umm, why is everything still the same?" Emma looks down, already ashamed to have asked.

She dreaded the answer.

Regina momentarily looks down, her lips moving but not coming up with words.

"Remember that time I found you in New York?" Regina lifts her head, her eyes looking away self consciously.

That was the night Graham found her, the night she found out about that perverts death and that Graham had been looking for…

Realization hits her… Regina, she'd been looking for her for so long, for so long that she didn't even, she didn't have time for herself, for things like buying new curtains, and redecorating the house, something she loved to do throughout all her childhood, she loved to decorate.

"Regina…" Emma whispers, her voice saddened.

But before Emma can really say anything Regina cuts her off, avoiding all pity. "Emma, can we not talk about…"

She knew her mother, she hated feeling pitied… but this was not pity. All Emma wanted now was to make up for what she'd caused. Her mother's emptiness…

"I think we need to talk, finally talk about that night." Regina cuts again, this time she is sure she cut more than just the conversation.

Emma's heart feels as if it's being cut open, she isn't ready for this, she can't… she could barely ask Regina about the house, how was she going too…

"I can't…" her voice speaks her mind, her eyes growing wide, the lemonade shaking in her hand.

…

Emma's eyes grow wide; she looks so young right now, like I've caught her eating out of a cookie jar again, or like… like when I'd just came out of her shower, that time Emma could barely look away, that time… she needed to know.

She looks up at Emma's face once more, seeing only dread in her eyes. Guilt comes rushing in.

She can't, she is Emma's mother; She is supposed to make her feel safe and comfortable, at home.

All Regina wanted was for the two of them to come home, to their home and remind her where she belonged, she wanted to open up for Emma, she wanted to reconnect and talk about everything, EVERYTHING! She needed Emma to know it was okay, she was a child and it did not matter… she needed to know if Emma was okay, what had happened to her all these years, she needed to know if that man hurt her so long ago, that now dead man, she needed to know if she'd saved herself or the way she'd taught her too countless times, all she wanted was to have her child back and get Emma to open up but instead she…

Emma is so close to running out of this house, she needs to take it back!

She wasn't ready, and now her hearts hopeful beat dimmed, she'd rushed things.

"We need to talk about that night I found you, the night you took off with… with Neal." She'd change the question; she hoped she'd get at least this answer. Did Emma not need her anymore?

She notices Emma's shoulder slightly relax, her mouth opening for air.

Emma takes a noticeable breath and lifts up her glass of lemonade. "You got anything stronger?" Emma asks nervously.

Regina's eyes look momentarily surprised, just like that time Emma had asked her long ago; that time Emma had asked what that little "thing" in between her legs was for. Regina's heart had skipped a beat, her child was growing…

But now, her child was no longer a child but a confident, beautiful woman… and she needed, she needed to treat her like one, even though part of her wanted nothing more than to grab Emma and pull her into her bed, and have Emma need her like when she was 4 and could not sleep without her.

"I apologize; I forget you are 28 now." She smiles politely, shaking off all surprise.

"Would you like some Cider Emma?" Regina asks, her regal voice now present.

…..

Emma cannot help but nod her head yes in response, her words stuck; Regina's regal voice suddenly taking away all her confidence.

Regina nods her head and swiftly turns away, making her way out of the study room, giving Emma time to recollect herself. That woman could undue her quicker than anyone she's ever met.

She takes a quick sip of the lemonade; trying to remind herself why she wanted the cider in the first place, besides needing the alcohol to boost her words.

She wasn't 12 anymore, and she felt she needed to remind her mother of that, also she'd been craving the taste of that sweet apple cider her mother took out on certain occasions, that apple cider she'd secretly take sips from at thanksgiving dinners and birthday parties. She'd craved the taste since she turned 16.

She laughs lightly causing Regina to look at her curiously as she'd entered back into the room.

"What's so amusing?" Regina asks, two glasses of apple Cider in hand.

"It's nothing really, I just…" Emma thinks of a lie, the truth is Emma would drink from her mother's glass to not only taste the forbidden cider, but too… too taste what she imagined her mother's mouth tasted like.

She loved the idea of Regina's mouth on the glass of cider and then on her own… she could not help but laugh at the realization, even back then when she did not realize why she'd do it… she knew now.

And laughter was the only way she could express the irony of the situation.

"I used to drink out of your cider when you weren't looking." Emma admits, it couldn't hurt to tell half the truth.

"Emma!" Regina's mouth opens in shock.

She then suddenly feels a light slap on her shoulder, "You little jerk, I told you not too…" Regina playfully rages.

"Haha, I was 10 common." Emma adds to Regina's now grinning mouth.

After a few seconds of almost nostalgic laughter, their mouths close; silence anew.

"I've missed this…" Regina speaks first.

"Me too." She whispers almost low enough to not catch.

But she knew Regina heard…

"Then why did you go that day I had finally found you." Regina's eyes squint, her tears trapped.

Emma hurriedly sips her glass, finishing the cider miraculously fast and explains the most she can without considering her own breath.

"I wasn't ready too; I wasn't ready to see you… I needed to grow up some more and fix myself."

"There was nothing wrong with you Emma!" Regina cuts in, her glass now emptied as well.

Emma wasn't going to answer that, or else she'd answer the first question… the question Emma knew her mother really wanted to ask.

"I was in love with Neal and I knew that if I went with you I wouldn't see him again and he… I couldn't handle that Regina…" That old lie was back, this would do for now.

"Was?" Regina almost hopefully asks.

Hopefully? Emma thought…

"I… I love Neal mother and right now I can't even." She grabs her head, feigning pain.

"I know I'm sorry, I shouldn't even be asking so much of you right now… your friend… your boyfriend is in a coma and I.." Emma's heart sinks, Neal was not her boyfriend but right now she needed to cut Regina off before she kept digging.

"Can I go to my room?" Emma ignores Regina's last words, not wanting to lie further.

"Off course." Regina nods, her voice almost quivers.

Shit… She could see her mother's eyes blur, what did she do?

My queen…

That was that… those final thoughts push her towards the nearest exit, her room.

She quickly runs out, leaving a quiet Regina behind.

….

Regina let her go; she could tell Emma wasn't ready for any of it; not that night, not that other night.

At least now Regina's most hidden question was answered, the one question she did not want to ask… Emma and Neal were still together and that, and that… that she feared broke her most of all.

Night came quick; her broken head was sure to rest.

And this would have been true was it not for the impossible… she began to dream.

Something she'd forced herself to never do again, she'd drank the potion… how?

They were back and…

"_Oh Emma." Regina wraps her arms gently around a soft strong woman below her._

"_Are you sure honey?" The woman nods her head innocently, fire in her eyes…_

_Regina leans in kissing this woman fiercely, like she'd never get another chance._

"_Please Regina I cannot wait any longer." The blonde locked woman's eyes, responds breathlessly. it was… it was Emma. _

"_Nor can I my love." Regina slowly slides her hands in between long slender legs and..."_

…

GASPS!

"No!" Regina forces herself to open her eyes, she harshly lifts her body up, making herself come back to reality.

"This cannot be happening again, this…" Regina's begins to cry in guilt, she gently presses her wet face into the feathered pillow that became the only object of comfort over the many lonely years.

A sudden thud makes her lift her head; her tears halt as she realizes it came from Emma's room.

A familiar feeling comes over her, just like that night she feared for Emma, Sydney… that all too familiar feeling; worry.

She quickly checks the nightstand, 5:00 a.m. how long had she?

She suddenly hears another soft thud and this time she was not letting her thoughts stop her…

She quickly gets up, making her way past her door, through the hall and swiftly pushes Emma's door open.

What she sees makes her body stiffen, makes her body replicate an all too familiar child who walked in on her mother's shower such a long but short time ago.

Emma lying in her bed, sheets on the floor, her jeans unbuttoned and her hand… her hand in between her legs. She's sweating and mumbling words… she's, she's sleeping?

Her eyes try their best not to linger, Emma's sudden moan making her freeze further.

"Emma.." Regina whispers, her dreams playing fresh in her head.

She needed to wake her up, she needed too…

And then it hits her like an arrow with fire through her chest… Emma moans out a name, a name she wished she hadn't heard.

"Regina, please…"

That is it, she cannot handle this, her breath becomes quicker as her motherly instincts take over, she runs towards Emma's sleeping form and shakes her awake.

"Emma wake up, please!" Regina's voice pleads.

Emma's eyes quickly flutter open and in worry.

"Regina?!" Emma's eyes open wider in horror, quickly looking down at her hand and straight up to Regina's worried eyes.

"I… Regina it's not what…" Emma's voice confidently tries to cover.

"Emma… I know." Regina's voice is stern now, making Emma's face temporarily show her 12 year old self again.

"Know what?" She swallows roughly.


	25. Chapter 25

**It had been so long since she'd dreamt... **

So long since Emma had closed her eyes and seen that screen in her head, that magical screen that gave her images of the one person she could not physically look at.

She was 20 when she'd stopped dreaming, it hit her like a spell, like a curse…

A curse that stole away all her images, all those images she'd have of her mother, as a young girl and of a possible future.

A future she would dream of, but would surely never happen.

She could remember having one so vivid that she swore she had never ran away and grew up to become Regina's lover… Regina's true love.

She could also remember the last one she had; the one where she and her were on the kitchen floor.

She remembers waking up from what she thought was the cold kitchen floor of her mother's mansion, she'd been laying on it just moments ago, a woman wrapped into her arms, a woman and her naked in each other embrace… that woman unchanging.

It was her mother… Regina was in her arms.

But as soon as her eyes opened she realized that cold kitchen floor was just a dream, she had been where she slept just hours ago, her and Neal's bed.

It was indeed a curse, her dreams giving her false predictions and then ripping them away, because after that, the dreams stopped coming.

She remembers waking up, her face full of sweat and her body shivering.

It was like her head was trying to come up with these images but her body would fight against it, making her crazy in the process.

But Neal, he calmed her after a few days without them, and convinced her that it probably meant that she was finally over Regina and that time had finally taken its toll.

She was no longer sweating and shivering, convincing herself that she was indeed getting over it.

But the one problem was, it not only stole Regina, it stole all her dreams entirely.

That is, until now.

….

As soon as she quickly escaped Regina's tear filled eyes she'd made her way straight and directly to her old safe haven, her room.

She quickly looked around and ignored the undeniably untouched objects and laid her head on the soft feathered pillows she didn't even know she had missed till now.

The dream hit her quicker then she'd ran from the queen.

**(The Dream)**

_She could feel a soft gentle touch caress her rosy child like cheeks and slide down to cradle her strong structured jaw._

"_You are so beautiful Emma." That voice softly tells her. _

_Her dreams had returned, as if they'd never gone, and her eyes tear up at the sudden realization, but is soon forgotten when Regina quickly absorbs them with her long slender fingers. _

"_It's okay my love, I'm here, I've always been here." She could feel her mother gently press her pointing finger on the left side of her chest, tracing a heart._

"_Regina…" Emma's contently hums, tears long gone._

_Her skin begins to warm, her chest filling up with undeniable passion, and like a fast forwarded tape, the images become blurry and quick, stopping in the part she wanted to see most. _

_They were on Regina's bed, that giant bed and her white sheets… her white sheets? Those were her sheets from her old apartment?_

_Emma happily shakes her head, not questioning her dreams…_

"_Oh Emma." Regina wraps her arms gently around her, from above. _

"_Are you sure honey?" Emma nods innocently, knowing this was her first time. _

_Regina leans in kissing this her fiercely, like she'd never get another chance, she'd hope it wasn't the last. _

"_Please Regina I cannot wait any longer."Emma responds breathlessly, pleading the dark haired woman. _

"_Nor can I my love." Regina slowly slides her hands in between her long slender legs and..._

"_My queen." Emma moans softly, her voice quivering._

_She cannot help and tremble at the sudden sensation, Regina's fingers softly rubbing Emma's sensitive bottom lips, preparing her for what was to come._

"_Emma…" Regina's voice timidly whispers._

_Timidly?_

_She could feel her hips buck as Regina slides her fingers up and down and in small circles._

_But Emma could no longer respond to her ministrations because the next thing she hears forces her to wake up from her deprived dream. _

"EMMA WAKE UP, PLEASE!" Her mother's voice wakes her roughly.

Barely open, Emma's eyes look down to the wet sensation on her hand and realization comes crashing.

…

"Regina?!" her eyes grow wide like headlights, and directly shine on Regina's worried face.

"I… Regina it's not what…" Emma's voice confidently tries to cover.

"Emma… I know." Regina's voice is stern now, making Emma's face temporarily show her 12 year old self.

"Know what?" She feels herself swallow roughly.

Regina looks down, as if she were contemplating.

That's when she sees it… a blush? Her mother's cheeks were blushing red and, and…. Why was Regina looking down? Was she nervous? Her mother was never nervous...

"That's not it." Emma accidently says out loud her red cheeks permanent from embarrassment.

"I.." Regina tries to explain what she wanted to say.

That's it, she embarrassed her mother… it couldn't be what she secretly hoped it'd be.

Besides what was worse than catching your defective child touching herself in her late 20's? Oh God, she really thought she was ready to come back… she…

"I know Emma, it's okay… we've all had those kinds of dreams, there's nothing to be embarrassed about really… besides…" Regina lets out a nervous chuckle.

"This would have happened eventually, whether you were 16 or… now." She smiles lovingly, erasing all awkwardness.

"Ummm, yeah… I mean I know… I just, I haven't had a dream in such a…" Emma tightens her mouth shut, she'd take this as a free pass.

"I haven't ya know done that in a really long time, I guess it's the stress with Neal and all." She smiles; well what Emma hoped was a smile.

….

"Neal, off course." Regina's voice becomes stale.

"Omg, Neal! I… what time is it? I should go take a quick run and… I need to go see him." Emma quickly stands up not remembering that her jeans are unzipped and her lace underwear were now very much visible.

"Shit." Emma uncomfortably turns sideways away from her mother's avoiding eyes.

"Sorry, I promise I'm not a messy adult, I just get hot at night and…"

"It's okay Emma." Regina cuts, her voice hitting the wall to her left.

Yup, her mother could not even look at her.

"Well umm, I'll see you in a few." Emma starts to walk passed her, until Regina gently presses her arm on a very bare shoulder.

"If you need any clean shirts they are downstairs in the washer room, you should fit into my clothes now." Regina offers, her hand quickly removing itself from Emma's stiff shoulder.

"Yes, a shirt… gotcha." Emma nods.

Regina looks down, a hint of shame in her face.

"Mom…" Emma can't help but take it as sadness.

"Thank you for not making that a lot worse… I… I don't know what I'd do without you." Emma lets it go, instantly making Regina's face light up like she hadn't seen since she'd hugged her, maybe it wasn't so bad opening up a little more… making Regina smile a lot more.

…...

After having a quick breakfast at home, and avoiding the townspeople… Emma and her made their way to the hospital and were now in Neal's room, his condition had yet to change and Emma… Emma was still by his side.

Regina watches as Emma sits by Neal's side her hand in his and it almost makes her want to rip her own heart out. Part of her knew this was normal, Emma was bound to fall in love, but Regina, all she wanted was to have that time with Emma… and this man, he was getting all of it.

All she wanted was Emma… and Emma's time, something that was stolen from her years ago.

Regina takes a quick sip from her coffee, something she'd brought from home after the lack of sleep.

She grips the disposable cup tight, her ears taking in the words Emma had begun to say.

"Neal please, you gotta wake up." Emma smoothes his hair gently back, like a mother would her child… like she would do to Emma.

Her heart sinks further down, ever since Emma had come back it was either happiness or pain and right now it was…

And that's when she hears those words, those words Emma had told her moments ago… the words she hoped were only meant for her.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." Emma whispers.

_**SMASH.**_

"MOM?!" Emma turns around sharply towards the sound.

She'd done it, she'd let the jealo… she'd let the pain get to her. Regina could not handle what she'd heard directed towards someone other than herself she… she'd squeeze the cup so hard that it burst open, sending the hot liquid on her sensitive hand and the now dismantled cup on the floor.

Emma's eyes grow wide with worry, quickly standing up and making her way in front of her trembling hand.

"Mom? Are you okay?!" Emma looks around worriedly, not understanding what had happened.

….

Her mother is silent and Emma does not know what is going on… she worriedly looks down at the spilled coffee and broken cup on the floor and… and a red hot mark growing on her mother's hand.

Worry hits her, it hits her hard.

She suddenly feels something pull her forward and take control, something she had not felt since she was a pre teen.

She moves forward grabbing Regina's wounded hand and…

"My queen are you hurt?" she gently lifts the red hand towards her mouth and… No she couldn't, she presses her lips tenderly on the soft red skin, quickly caressing it with her lips.

"Emma…" her mother's high pitched voice pulls her back to her proper age.

"I'm… are you okay?" Emma shakes her head, trying to avoid what she'd just done.

"I'm… oh my god Emma!" a sudden light surrounds Regina's hand and when she looks down her hand is clean of any burns, she'd been healed… she'd been healed by Emma.

"My Magic is back." Emma whispers more to herself.

"Indeed it is." Regina responds, rosy cheeks now present.


	26. Chapter 26

**She had almost forgotten she had magic…**

She'd been so worried about her endless problems and inevitable consequences that she'd pushed away something she forgot was so amazing and quite literally magical.

Emma never quite did take the time to revel in her magic; she'd always had a bigger occurrence to deal with.

She remembers the first time using it, she could only think about protecting her mother.

She can remeber not worrying about what she'd just done, how she'd just thrown a man out of a window with nothing but a flick of her tiny wrists, but about protecting a woman she had fallen so deeply for… her mother.

At that moment magic was something less concerning, when all she could do was think about Regina… and the feelings that came crumbling down after that… the undying feelings that have led her to where she was now; Still undeniably in love with Regina; the woman who birthed her, the woman that no matter how many years had gone by was still undeniably her mother.

Regina and her had soon left the hospital and decided to take a long walk, something they'd do often when she'd been in Storybrooke years before.

She'd ask a pre teen Emma to accompany her for a walk, usually that was after one of her stressful days or just because.

And today, today was just because…

They'd quickly left the hospital ground and avoided any chance of bumping into those curious townspeople.

She could never forget how much Regina hated their lurking eyes, and part of Emma knew Regina was not ready to have a fleet of people surrounding her with questions, and Emma knew she herself was not ready for any reunions, not until she had a good enough excuse for why she'd left.

She really hoped they didn't spread nasty rumors about her mother, because Emma knew how strange they could be about their regal mayor.

Regina…

She really was regal… even after burning herself and being healed, she'd pretended she was completely okay and chose to react as calmly as possible, asking Emma if she'd like to go for a walk right after the eye opening incident.

So that is what they did… here they were; Regina, herself and the magic.

"Do you have magic?" Emma couldn't help but end the almost peaceful silence, their footsteps against the concrete making the only sounds.

Her mother's eyes decide to open wide at this occasion.

She can see her struggling to answer, her shoulders uncomfortably going up, and her hands now in her gray pantsuit pockets.

"Regina?"

Emma pushes, her voice reminding Regina that she needed trust.

A word she rarely saw put into action.

Regina lifts her head and smiles almost self consciously.

"I had magic, yes."

"Had?" Emma asks; her eyebrow now arched with curiosity.

"Yes, had… it was a long time ago and…" Regina abruptly stops her feet from moving, a smile replacing her nerves.

"Emma! Look it's our bench." She turns to Emma's now confused eyes.

"Our what?" Emma replies, her voice pitched up in confusion over the sudden change in topic.

She suddenly feels Regina's soft hand grab her own and pull her towards a bench.

"Don't you remember? Sunday mornings; you, me, and ice cream on this bench!"

Regina's smile grows wider; convincing Emma to forget the previous subject.

"Ice cream…" Emma cannot help but voice out Regina's memories, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes.

Regina softly pulls them both down and onto the bench, the feeling of them both sitting down next to each other now fresh in Emma's mind.

"Ice cream!" Emma's excitedly responds; her and Regina now sharing the same memory.

Regina crosses her legs and contently lets go of Emma's hand, both of them now sitting as if they'd never lost time.

And Emma carelessly does what she'd do when she was careless and 10 years old.

She does not let her mother let go of her.

She quickly grabs Regina's hand, not letting her let go.

"How's the hand?" Emma asks, with a confidence she already had as an adult in New York, and a bravery she lost when she left home.

Regina's eyes do something they'd been doing since Emma's return, her eyes grow wide and she tries to shake it off.

…

Her eyes momentarily linger on Emma's hand holding hers.

Her eyes grow wide and then quickly take control again. This was normal… they'd do it all the time.

She just didn't think Emma would… not after everything. Not after seeing how hard she'd become.

She looks up, pretending this did not affect her, pretending her heart did not just skip a beat over something so… normal.

"It's okay… thanks to you." Regina smiles proudly.

"Well I try." Emma responds almost flirtatiously?

No, that wasn't it… How could Regina possibly even think such things?

Regina momentarily stays silent, making Emma's cheeks suddenly turn to red.

Had she said something wrong? She really hoped she hadn't made Emma feel uncomfortable in any way… she couldn't bare it.

"Thank you my love, for healing me… I don't know what I'd do without you." Regina attempts to make her feel at home again.

But she notices Emma's face go from red to worry.

"It was no big deal Mom, that's what daughters are for." Emma looks down; waving her hand in the air… assuring Regina that it was indeed no problem.

Had she said something else wrong? Had she… Oh gosh, had she made Emma feel like a kid or something? Because this was definitely not her little Emma… this was…

"_REGINA!"_

They are both suddenly interrupted by an upset looking Mary Margret.

"Mary Margret?!" Regina quickly stands up, her body tense again.

Mary Margaret looks at a bewildered Emma, tears threatening to fall.

"When did? Why didn't you tell us?" Regina looks away shamefully, ignoring Mary Margaret's already falling tears.

"Mary Margaret I'm… I'm sorry…" Regina looks up, a regrettable expression replacing her stiffness.

"You're sorry?" Regina can hear Emma's voice whisper in the back.

….

"YOU TWO ARE FRIENDS?" It was Emma's turn to feel betrayed.

She looks around confused, a hint of pain in her chest.

Were they friends? How long had Emma been gone…. Her mother was friends with Mary Margaret!

Emma hid her and Mary M's friendship for years, trying hard not to disappoint her mother and now…. They are friends?

"Emma…" Mary Margaret breathes out happily.

Making Regina turn away from the scene.

That's when Emma takes a good look at the woman in front of her.

"Wow, does anybody not age in this town." She can't help but notice how young Mary Margret still looked.

"Emma we looked so hard… for years…" Mary Margaret explains, making Emma feel so much worse for leaving for so long… she didn't think….

She quickly gets up and wraps her arms around Mary Margaret tightly, showing her appreciation and the love she had for the teacher she never could forget.

"I'm glad your back." She whispers to and now slightly taller Emma.

"Mary Margaret we need to…" Regina cuts in suddenly, just as they let go.

"I apologize for not telling the town my business but… I just needed to…" Emma could tell Regina was finding it difficult to justify herself and right now Emma wanted nothing more than to step in a defend her but… but she was a bit taken back by her mother's new friendship.

"Look, I just need some time with her… alone and…"

"I get it." Mary Margret cuts her mother's incomplete sentences.

"You do…" Regina responds.

"I'll leave you two alone… I'm going to go make a welcome back cake with a couple of…" Mary Margaret quickly walks away happily and already planning to tell a few people of the news.

But before Regina could stop her from walking away, and warning her not to Emma holds her shoulder back and turns them face to face.

"its okay woman, I'm all yours, no matter who knows…" Emma assures her, making Regina push away suddenly at her words.

"Emma don't… don't call me that I… I'm your mother." Regina silently responds her hand grabbing her chest.

Something Emma had been doing over the years.

"But that is what you are… a woman." Emma's voice whispers in response.

"Emma… we still need to talk, I… I need us to be honest with each other..." Regina shakes her head, as if to take control again.

Something Emma decided she was not letting her do.

"Honest?!" Emma's strong voice echoes through the now empty park, making Regina suddenly wrap her arms around herself.

"Honest? Regina you haven't been honest one bit.. I … I don't even know why you hated MARY Margaret in the first place and now you two are… you two are besties?" Emma cannot help but express her frustration.

"Besties? I would hardly consider…" Regina begins to roll her eyes, trying to ignore Emma's avoidable question.

"What happened to your magic? Why did you hate snow? And why did you lie to me about the book?" Emma did not notice but Regina's face now showed horror, and.. and something Emma could never stand… her tears.

"Emma I can't… You don't under…" Emma doesn't know if it was her re-found magic, or her unthinking brain, but that undeniable magnet suddenly pulled her forward and straight to Regina's lips; she needed to shut her up.. she needed to…

…

"Emma!" Regina tries to stop the contact but Emma is to quick… she suddenly feels a soft pair of lips against her own.

Those soft lips that she'd dreamed about and tried to deny for so long… those lips that belonged to… to her daughter, to her child!

Regina's eyes open wide, but before she could detach their lips apart a warm feeling takes over and a light spreads around them like lightning going off… a light that rushes through them and passed the tress around them…

Magic.

Was this… was this…

True…

Loves…

Kiss…

And now, her world is undeniably shaken, her curse is now broken.


	27. Chapter 27

**Was this some kind of sick joke? **

Her child…

Her daughter…

True love's kiss…

She turns her head roughly down, staring at the concrete floor; her mind trying to find some kind of logic, but the ground was all she could look at and make sense of.

Her daughter…

Snow White's daughter…

Yes, that was what she undeniably was now… Snow's.

She would surely rip that title away from her, now that… now that her curse was broken.

Regina can feel a tear slide down her cheek… it was inevitable after all.

She clenches her chest with worry, pain and confusion.

"Regina…." She looks up, the ache in her chest lessening and her heart palpitating at a faster paste.

That voice… it was suddenly doing things to her insides, things she'd kept in the dark since those dreams began, dreams she'd cursed away.

What is happening, why is she feeling like this.

Emma could not be her true love… that was impossible!

Daniel was dead, and no other had conquered her heart, not until…

Emma…

She feels a gentle yet strong touch on her shoulder, Emma's breath close again.

She feels her body involuntarily relax under Emma's touch… one touch and she already felt safe, the tables had turned… Emma no longer needed her mother to help her feel safe and secure, she was the shoulder now; she was the shoulder she so desperately wanted to lean on right now.

"Regina?" Emma calls her name once again, her voice quickly going form nervous to anxious.

She cannot help but look up and stare; stare straight into those unforgettable forest green eyes, those eyes she instantly fell for the moment she first laid eyes on them; that moment she first held Emma and knew… her void was gone.

"Emma!" Regina quickly grabs Emma's shoulder.

"Look I'm sorry I don't know what came over… just… what was that?!" Emma was utterly confused and could not help but sound like a blubbering child, a nervous blubbering child.

Before Regina can even think of a way to begin to explain, they are both interrupted by a screaming voice calling out Regina's name from a distance.

"_**REGINAAAAA!"**_

"Mary Margaret?" Emma's eyes open wide with confusion.

But before Emma's concerned eyes can see where the yell is coming from she feels a tight grip on her wrist pulling her away from the distraction.

"Emma, we have to go!" Regina quickly pulls them towards the opposite direction.

...

Emma is utterly confused and needs to know what is going on… now!

She could not be lied to any longer.

"Regina stop, tell me what the hell is going on! What was that back there when, when I kissed you..." she whispers the last words unsure if she could say such things out loud.

"And why is Mary Margaret screaming?!" She see's Regina look around as if to try to escape not only Mary Margaret but the entire situation in one.

"Mom!" Emma's tries to stop her from exhausting herself, she'd never seem her mother this way; she was so… so scared.

When suddenly Regina stops… and sternly, sadly, looks into Emma's eyes.

"You are not going to want to call me that after… after I tell you why…" She let's go of Emma's wrist defeated, as if she were ready to surrender a battle.

"Regina what are you?" Emma tries to talk, communicate with this secretive woman she so desperately wanted to see inside of… Emma was not the only one with a keyless door.

"_**REGINA?!" **_

It was Mary Margret and… and so many familiar faces… the townspeople? What were they?

"_**KILL THE QUEEN!" **_She hears a man yell from behind the angry mob… mob? Why on earth were they looking at HER MOTHER THAT WAY!

"Kill the queen?" Emma whispers in confusion, looking back and forth between a now angry Regina and angrier mob.

No one was touching Regina, not while she was still breathing.

She grabs a tight hold of the woman who gave her light, the woman who was her light; and conjured all the power she hoped she had…

"Emma wait!" Mary Margaret sorrowfully yells.

The white cloud begins to surround Regina and herself not letting anyone near them.

"Emma I'm your..."

But before Emma could hear Mary Margaret's sorrowful words, Emma had had enough; the cloud engulfs them both and takes them away to safety, her ears unable to catch the last words… and that did not matter, because right now Regina was going to tell her what the hell was going on.

…..

_**The Mansion.**_

Their place of safety…

This was the only place Emma could think to take them, it was their home.

But it had not calmed Regina one bit, Regina stood there arms around herself, frantically breathing.

"Regina it's okay, I won't let them hurt you." Emma assures; not caring what the reasons were for these people to hate her mother so suddenly.

"We have to get out of here." Regina ignores all assurances and steps forward, a hand reaching up towards Emma's face.

But Emma stops it from making contact, placing her own hand on Regina's and holding it tight into hers mid air.

"What is going on Regina?" She asks, her eyes now serious, quite like when she'd catch those bad people in New York.

"I… wish I could…" Oh no… Emma won't let her do this now; it was too late for lies.

"You are telling me everything… I know you're lying, and I've always known." Emma responds, her voice breaking.

"You see… I have this power and… and I know you've been lying Regina." Emma quickly let's go of Regina's hand, as if it were made of fire… because just like fire, Regina was about to hurt her once again.

"Emma." Regina's eyes water.

"I wish I could tell you…" Emma's tears begin to fall, Regina did not trust her… she did not…

"I wish I could tell you here but we aren't safe... I am not safe here." She leans in and presses a warm comforting kiss on Emma's tear stained cheek, quickly wiping the tears away softly and stepping back.

Emma's eyes are now wide with surprise, her mother had kissed her… although it may not been a romantic gesture Emma's cheeks had turned red right after, thanking Regina for calming her down…

"I need to get a few things and I need you to use your magic to take us somewhere… and then, then you will have all your answers Emma." She looks down pausing, but then rubs it off and frantically runs up the stairs, her heels clattering on the wooden steps.

And although the situation was not something to smile about, Emma's mouth forms a sudden side grin. She cannot help but feel a shock to her system… Regina was going to finally open up and… and trust her.

Her trance was quickly broken when a disheveled looking Regina was now in front of her, a familiar book held tightly in her hands.

"Now, let's read a book now shall we?" Regina smiles warmly, as if she were talking to Emma when she'd been seven and could not wait to be read too by her mother.

"Let's go!' Emma extends her arm forward, offering Regina her hand.

Regina quickly places her hand into Emma's, anxious to disappear.

"Where too?" Emma questions, not sure if she could successfully take them where Regina wanted.

Regina leans in, her lips on Emma's ear.

"I do not want anyone to hear this…" she whispers, sending a sudden shiver down Emma's neck.

She could never control herself.

"Where to Regina?' Emma whispers, trying to shake off her bodies impulsive reactions.

And just like that, as soon as Regina whispers her destination, a dark purple cloud surrounds them both and takes them away.

"What was that?! Where are we?" Emma blinks in awe, confused as to how they got here.

"My vault." Regina smiles contently, a familiar glee in her eyes.

"and that dear, was my magic."


	28. Chapter 28

**Regina was The Evil Queen...**

Before Regina could muster a word, Emma knew.

The angry mob, people yelling at her mother; calling her the evil queen and… and the purple smoke Regina had just engulfed them in… it was just like that page she'd read as a kid.

And like a puzzle, everything came together and made sense right then and there; in this… in this vault.

Regina's vault…

Everything came together.

Regina was indeed the Evil Queen of the story, and although she'd almost confirmed this as a teen, Regina had denied it.

She'd remembered… she'd remembered that forgotten night…

Regina had lied…

And just like that, her superpowers and all the arrows pointing at her guilty mother, she let it go… just like she'd let all her feelings go that night; the night she'd ran away for a second time.

The night she decided to leave Regina behind, a regretful second time.

How could she have forgotten? How could she have let such important information slip her mind?

Oh that's right… She was in love with her mother, something far more delicate.

She had to let go, she had to make herself forget, or else there was no surviving, not without Regina…. nor herself.

She remembered… she remembered everything.

And now… now it was time to ask that lost question once again, her heart ready to take it.

"Regina, what is this book? And who is The Evil Queen?" Emma asks just like then, but this time she knew; Regina was not going to break her and Emma was not going to run. She was no longer 17… She was an adult and knew Regina had no choice.

"I am The Evil Queen."

She hears her mother's low voice confess, and just like that a long breath escapes her chest; Regina's answer fills her open ears and her heart… is not broken… it is not lied too…

Regina had spoken; Regina has begun to open up…

She would now listen, and finally understand who her mother really is…

"Say it again, tell me everything." Emma pushes, needing to know everything, like it'd really matter, like it'd really change how she felt about the woman in front of her.

Nothing would change how she felt, nothing would change the years of enchantment, years of desire, a desire she'd felt since she could remember how to feel, a desire for the woman who raised her and gave her nothing but love.

Nothing would change the fact that, this woman, this queen, was _**her**_ queen.

…

It was time for her to tell Emma everything… she had no choice. Her options had been taken away the moment Emma had attached her lips to hers… the moment fate decided to screw her over yet again.

The moment fate decided her child was hers no longer…

"I am The Evil Queen." She repeats; her voice stronger than before.

She lets the words linger, her chest letting go of the air she had been holding, a deep breath that practically echoes through her vault.

"And?" Emma's voice is expectant, Regina does not see a child anymore; she sees a confident woman… a woman that would soon hate her.

And after everything they'd been going through… her child or not, Regina did not want to lose her, but Emma deserved her truth… she always did.

Part of her wondered if she had told Emma… would she have left?

She grabs her chest, trying to stop the pain of her thoughts… trying to stop the pain of what was to come.

"You are welcome to read the book on your own time Emma… I do not wish to read it yet again." She takes another much needed breath.

"You see… this book is like a history on my life, it is full of all my sins and all the horrendous things I used to be." She cannot help but let out another breath.

"I used to be!" her voice echoes strongly against the walls, she needed Emma to see… before she could know. She needed her to see…

"I am no longer that person, not since you..." A tear quickly caresses her pale cheeks. And right now she was certain her tears were the only thing that would caress her face from now on…

"Not since you came into my life… not since, since I ado…" It was so hard for her to say.

But before she could finish that sentence, Emma cuts in, unable to ignore her previous confession. "What did you do? Why do they call you Evil?"

Regina closes her eyes, as if to hide herself.

"You see… the enchanted forest was so different, it's a place I never wish for you to be… it's…"

"Tell me Regina, what did you do?" Emma whispers this time, trying to bring comfort.

Regina looks straight behind Emma's eyes and confesses to the cold brick wall behind her.

"I cast a curse that devastated an entire population, I've tortured and murdered, I've done horrible things, I know I should be overflowing with regret Emma.. "

"But I'm not!" Regina practically screams, more tears falling.

She pauses, she opens her eyes expecting to see Emma's disgusted face, but all she see's is….

"A curse? What curse?" Emma asks, no anger or disgust evident.

All Regina see's is curiosity… like when Emma would read her books in bed… curiosity and concern.

"Why were all those people screaming at you? Why was Mary MARGARET SO UPSET ?!" Emma's voice gets louder, as if she'd forget the words, the questions.

"I cursed them Emma… I cursed all of them." Regina looks down, shame in her face, a shame she'd been feeling since Ruby and Granny… since these people she despised so much helped her… since she'd lost Emma and found solace in none other than the people she'd cursed.

"How?" Emma whispers.

"I was… I was miserable, everything had been taken away from me… and all I had was revenge."

"Revenge?" Emma repeats her words, memorizing her truth.

"If you read the book, you will see…." Regina repeats.

"Why can't you?" Emma asks, ache written on her face.

"Please Emma, you have to understand…"

Emma takes those few steps forward to caress her face; something she did not think would ever happen again. Something she began to realize she wanted… more than she should.

She sighs deeply, releasing her tension. "Because that book only tells part of my story Emma… it tells you what I did but not why." She let's go, her tears for Daniel, her mother, her father… what that man did to her… all begin to show, gently falling on Emma's now wet hand.

Finally giving Emma what she wanted, honesty.

"Emma please… read the book and you will see… "

"No! I want us both to read it and I want you to explain… I want your side of the story." Emma encourages, a warm smile appearing. A warm smile that did not encourage Regina at all… but pained her further… she could not give Emma false hope... She needed to tell her now… before it was too late.

"I'm not your mother Emma!" Regina lets it go, instantly removing the smile from Emma's hopeful face.

Silence fills the room, Emma's hand already drawn away from her face… her arms now closed around herself.

"You're not my what?" Emma's voice trembles, her eyes now wide with shock.

'I… I stole you… I stole you from…"

"I can't hear this right now…." Emma backs away as far as possible.

"Emma.." Regina steps forward hand looking for her face.

"Stay away Regina! I can't... I can't…" She hears Emma's breath quicken, panic written in her voice.

She knew this would happen… she knew fate would take her away.

"Emma wait… please just."

….

Emma quickly moves forward and snatches the only thing she could trust from her mother's arms, the book.

"I don't believe you… I… I need to go." Emma holds the book tightly, a now distant look in her eyes, and is quickly taken away by a familiar white cloud.

…..

She appears in the woods, a part she can remember she'd hid in when she'd ran away.

She needed to be alone; she needed to read this damn book and… and prove to herself that Regina… Regina wasn't lying… that everything she thought she knew wasn't a lie…

That her mother made her believe something… something that hurt her for so long… something that could have easily saved Emma so much pain.

That she did not run away in vain…

That she hadn't fallen in love with a lie.


	29. Chapter 29

**She could not bear to let go of the feathered pillow she gripped in her hands…**

So tight and unmoving, her hands did not dare to let go.

And her body, her body refused to remove itself from the snow white sheets beneath her; Emma's sheets… the sheets she once stole from her New York apartment, that box of an apartment Regina wished she'd been a part of.

She wished a lot of things, but as fate so had it… there was no fairy to grant her wish, not for her anyways.

She wished and desired so many things… but right now she only wished and desired one.

Her grip tightens, the feathered pillow hugging her hands with comfort.

Her tears begin to pour, her wish capsizing her heart and making it feel as if it were to drown.

She lets her tears slip and stain the white sheets.

"My… true… love?"Regina whimpers into the empty room.

Crying seems to be the only thing she is capable of now and days… she thought that'd change once she had Emma back, but it seemed to be getting worse instead.

Her wish. ..

Her heart…

It endlessly ached.

Her wish?

Regina wished, she wished so bad to burn, to have been burned at that stake…that stake so long ago when Snow had stopped that arrow from ending her, from ending all of this pain.

The pain she not only caused for herself but the pain she caused the one person she refused to ever let get hurt…

Emma, she hurt Emma; Emma had been hurt by her own hands, her own doings.

She'd lied to Emma… she'd made her believe something that could have saved them both a lot of anguish… and fate? That undeniable traitorous thing had made her child her true love, it made something tender and innocent, horrid? and impossible.

It was impossible…

HER TRUE LOVE…

How could fate be so cruel to her; to have her child love her in such a way… to possibly love her child, that way…

She could never….

She suddenly feels her hands release the pillows and caress her own lips.

A memory created not too long ago played in her head, their kiss.

"Stop it!" she tells herself.

And that, that is the part that kills her most, that kiss was everything but horrid… it was something she could never feel again., something she could never let herself feel again, and now… now all Regina could think is Emma would have been far better off without her in her life. She'd be happy and with… with someone to love her, love her like she desires, a prince, a man, with a man like Neal.

Neal…

The fire hit her chest before she could neglect it, it was undeniably jealousy, and she knew this now… she dreadfully knew this now. She knew all that she'd felt since the beginning… since she held that child in her arms… Emma did belong to her and her to Emma…. She was indeed not her child, but her lover not yet grown… her true love.

Fate had ruined everything… not only was she legally her mother, but… but Emma had someone already… that man… Neal.. THAT MAN!

She could not grasp it! Why would fate make her a true love she could not have…

She could not love Emma that way… fate decided that the moment she adopted her, the moment Emma ran away, the moment Emma found someone, the moment she found someone she'd rather be with than her own _**"mother"**_ Regina cannot help put voice out the lie of a word.

But even then, even when Emma thought she was just that, she'd decided to be with him… and although she wanted to know the whole truth, the why, why did Emma leave, and everything about that night, the night she first slipped away… She knew she could not dare love Emma…

She could not love Emma that way!

Besides, she was sure Emma could no longer love her, not as a mother and especially not as… as…

That kiss... that kiss was everything but horrid… it was, it was unlike anything she'd ever experienced, and something she could never feel again. And still… still all Regina could think is Emma would have been far better without her in her life.

Far better without the lies, without these murderous hands, without this Evil Queen...

The Evil Queen, she waited for what was to come, they were bound to find her and end her misery, kill her, send her away, banish her… anything but Emma's broken eyes in front of her.

And as soon as the tears began to fall again, before her head could lay itself back down, those eyes entered the room and froze her.

"That's why you never aged... That's why no one ever aged." Emma's voice filed the room, her eyes directly on her, book in arms, and those eyes ready to take her on.

"I think we need to talk, finally talk about that night." It was Emma's turn to ask the question, the question they'd both avoided but so desperately needed to talk about.

"Emma, I'm so sorry…" Regina tries; her body already sitting upright on the bed, her shoulders stiff, and her hands now grasping the white sheets beneath her.

….

Emma cannot help but quickly avert her eyes towards Regina's hands, her hands now anxiously grasping the bed sheets.

Those bed sheets, those sheets were… Regina had kept them.

Emma's eyes quickly revert back up to face the woman of her dreams… but those dreams weren't real were they?

Her eyes quickly narrow, as she continues to speak the words she could not hold any longer, the pain of it all finally encouraging her to not care about what this woman's now shaking hands thought about her.

"You want to know why I did what I did, you want to know why I… why I degraded myself for you? Why I did what I did so long ago? Why I could not bear to tell you what I'd been writing and feeling all those years ago? Why I'd preferred LIVING IN THE STREETS THAN TO FACE YOU?!" she cannot help but yell out the final words, making Regina tremble in pain or shame, she wasn't sure.

"Emma…" Regina whispers, her lips quivering right after.

"Regina." She narrows her eyes further, remembering what she'd just read, what the evil queen had done to her. She had nothing to hide now, Regina would know.

"I've loved you since I could remember…" Emma whispers.

Her eyes finally looking away and towards the nearest object, the lamp, the lamp that broke that night Sydney had done what he'd done.

She shakes her head.

"That night… that night I saw Sydney doing what he was doing... I knew… I was going to protect you, you were my queen." She lets the tears go.

"No." She smiles, tears on her lips.

"Even before that… when Graham and you began to see each other… I knew I wanted to be the only one to call you a queen; I wanted to be Graham… I wanted to be a Sheriff, a prince, I wanted to be your KNIGHT!" She looks down, a false dream never becoming a reality.

"I wanted to be everything you were too me, perfect." She whispers, her head now looking at the familiar grey carpet.

She did not dare look up.

"But that night, that night that awful man did awful things to you, my blood boiled and magic became me… my magic needed to protect you, and only than it would work… is true love magic?" Emma whispered the last words, remembering a quote she'd read in the book.

"Are you… are you my true love Regina? Are you my Snow White?" Emma gulped, it all made sense as soon as she'd read it.

Everyone remembered right after their shared kiss… a curse was broken. True love breaks all curses… Emma was certain. But it did not break pain… and right now she needed Regina to know everything.

"Snow White… She's my mother… MY REAL MOTHER!" Emma's tears are inevitable.

"You kept me from my parents…" Emma wails.

"Emma please I…" Regina quickly gets up already in front of Emma's shaking shoulders.

"Stop." Emma sternly replies.

Regina does as she is told, her hands mid air ready to hold her… instantly drop to her sides, Emma was now the fire.

"I no longer need you to be my mother." She confirms, a confirmation Regina surely knew was coming.

Regina soon follows, a whimper escaping her mouth, her hands now covering her mouth, holding back a scream.

"I want to meet Mary Margaret, I want to meet her and… David? The man I saw at the hospital in a coma when I was 10 and had a flu, the man I now saw wide awake and walking hand in hand with Mary Margaret… I want my real parents Regina."

"I know." Regina's low voice responds solemnly.

"I no longer need you to be my mother…" She repeats as if to purposely burn her once again.

"Emma pleas…" But before Regina could plead for her to stop…

"I need you to be YOU, the real you… I need you to be Regina… the woman I… the woman I fell in love with, the woman who's heart was all but evil, the woman who took care of a child that did not even share her same blood… the child of a person she swore to destroy!" Emma's tears begin again.

"You did that for me… why?" she wraps her arms around herself, needing to feel comfort.

"I…" Regina reaches forward her hand barely touching Emma's shoulder.

"Why Regina? How? All that love you gave me… was that a lie too?" Emma asks the question that troubled her the most, was that love Regina gave her real? Did Emma fall in love with the true Regina? Or was it all a lie?

She feels Regina push herself closer, her unforgettable arms wrap around her shielded body and she squeezes… it was one of those hugs, the one's she desired so.

And that's when she hears the truth.

Regina leans into her now warm ears and whispers gently. "I've always loved you Emma, that was always true."

Regina presses her soft lips gently across her cheek, and grabs her face into her hands.

"That was never a lie… since I've first held you Emma; I knew you were special to me. You took away my loneliness, you filled my void, you made me smile, something I had not truly done since… since I could even remember… you were… you are my happy ending Emma Swan."

Regina cannot help but let out a painful moan, her tears caressing her pale face.

"Swan?" Emma blinks in confusion.

"That was, that was your name when I adopted you… when they found you outside the town line." She whispers another truth.

"Swan…" she whispers it, memorizing it.

"I like it…" She cannot help but smile at her mother's honesty.

"Emma…" Regina steps back, her arms now wrapped around her own chest.

"Yes?" Emma responds almost nervously, scared to know what was next.

"Emma I don't know what to do…" Regina looks down, her voice filled with worry.

"I… I destroyed your happiness… I… I lied to you for so long.. I… I could have saved you from all of this." Regina begins to sob.

"And the way you feel Emma, I've... I never knew Emma, I never knew." She sobs louder.

"I never knew how much I needed to hear those words… ever since, ever since you disappeared... I needed to know why… ever since I read your journal... I need to hear it from your lips… because once you kissed me my truth came out… I, I love you Emma, and I feel it is impossible to go there with you now… so much is stopping us… and I feel fate has destroyed us."

Emma's eyes become wide, she never thought she'd hear any of this… her heart begins to beat anew, it begins to heal.

"Regina…" Emma steps forward, closing the space Regina had created.

"Emma we can't…" Regina trembles.

"Regina… tell me more. Tell my why you did what you did?" Emma's cheek caresses Regina's now red face.

"Tell me your story." Emma leans into her ear; her breath lingers in Regina's ear.

"Tell me why you did not smile."

"Because I did not have you." She quickly replies.

Emma was sure her heart would burst, but part of her hurt still wondered if Regina still did not trust her.

"Emma I promise to tell you, I just… right now I need to figure out what to do… those people… they will kill me… I can't be in this town much longer…" She looks behind Emma, the door open, inviting anyone to come in.

"I need to find a way. To…"

"I won't let anyone lay a finger on you Regina, not even... not even Mary Margret and David." Emma grabs her hand in assurance.

"I promise Emma, I will tell you when I'm ready, but just remember these words my love…"

"I mean…" Regina suddenly fumbles with her hands, Emma could see those words were not meant in the same way as when she was a child… her love?

"Just remember, Evil is not born, it is made." Regina narrows her eyes, promising Emma that soon she would know the reasons.

"Right now..." Regina continues.

"We need to get out of here." Emma finishes her sentence.

"Indeed we do." Regina shakes her head worriedly.

"Let's go check on Neal, and figure out what we have to do." Emma urges.

"Neal…" Regina whispers.

…..

It was not going to happen, it was indeed impossible, Emma still loved him and fate would have its way. It would destroy any possibility of her happiness.


	30. Chapter 30

**All the reasons they could not be, played in her head like the wretched words of a curse… **

Like the broken clock on the town's tower, unmoving and broken… nothing had changed; because even though Regina had brought Emma to Storybrooke at just barely a few months old, the clock had never ticked passed 8:15…

And even though Emma had broken this reprehensible curse, and even though they both knew of what they'd felt with that kiss, or at least what she had felt… that did not change a thing.

It did not change what this town would do to her; it did not change that no matter what, Emma was still her daughter, and no one would condone such a thing, it did not change how wrong any realm would see it, and last… it did not change how Emma felt for this man… Neal.

And like the clock in the tower, Regina would remain broken.

Because although Emma had finally confessed her darkest secret, a secret Regina did not know she'd been longing to hear, a confession she needed to hear… it was in the past, and the past was nonexistent… it is still nonexistent.

Neal had been there, Neal had been there when Regina had been ripped away by fate… Neal had held her in ways she'd never be able to… He'd kissed her lips with full permission and full understanding that he'd never raised a child that he'd one day have his lips pressed against... How could Emma ever love her like once before? How could Emma love her after waiting so undeniably long for her to realize she loved her just the same...

Neal... he'd known since they were teens... she's sure of it, how could he not? He still... he still held her heart; she was almost certain...

Because fate was certain, it would destroy her happy ending.

(Hospital)

All the reasons they could not be... they'd been playing in he head since his name had left Emma's mouth at the mansion. The moment a hint of hope had appeared, his name had so easily destroyed it.

All hope that Emma would come with her and...

It was impossible!

She'd raised her, she'd lied to her, it was too late, no one would understand.

Neal... Neal!

And than there was them...

if Snow and Charming didn't have her head for what she'd done, they'd certainly have it for this... for corrupting their... their princess.

Regina's knight... her little knight.

All these reasons... they wouldn't stop, it was an endless list.

It was...

"Why can't I see Neal?!" Her endless list had been temporarily frozen, Emma's hurt voice making her heart skip with worry.

"What is going on here?" Regina's clattering heels made their way straight in front of Whale, ready to step on him for causing her love... No, her child...

any possible pain.

"You..." Whale's eyes become suddenly dark, his voice filled with venom.

"Victor..." Regina almost forgets... The Dr was back, and so was their feud, their now dangerous feud.

"Regina!" as soon as her voice escapes his bitter lips, his hand is already around her neck, accompanied by a tight squeeze.

But before Regina could react, he'd flown off his feet and into the nearest wall.

"Stay away from her!" It was Emma's turn to show her venom.

He laid still, now unconscious... A breathe of relief escaping Regina's lips, and a wicked smile soon following.

And before Regina could feel her knights hands on hers they both turn to an all to familiar voice, a voice Regina did not want to deal with... anyone but...

"Hello Dearrrie." the emphasis on his R's now present like before.

"You." She cannot help but grab Emma's arm and pull her behind her. She wouldn't let the imp near her...

"Rumple..." Emma whispers his name, a face she'd immediately recognized as Mr. Gold in the pages she'd hours ago had just read... he was definitely no good, that she knew.

"Pleasure to see you again Ms. SWWWAAAN." He smiles knowingly, his fingers mischievously fumbling with one another.

"You knew I was back? How do you?" Emma tries to get a response but is soon cut off by Regina's hand squeezing hers.

"You knew..." Regina accuses the man with the cane, that sneaky little imp!

"Yes dearie, and the prophecy has come to be... the savior broke the curse and my son... Baelfire has returned to me..."

"Neal." Regina gasps.

"Neal?!" Emma makes her way towards the man, and passed her...

"What have you done to Neal?!" She screams pointlessly, only making Gold smiles further.

"My son? Oh he will be okay, I will see to that... you've done nothing but leave him in a coma and alone, focusing on no one but the queen, your only desire."

"You know nothing!" Regina soon defends, hating the way he knew everything before it was even a thought in her head, the way he spoke those words... that evil little...

"You're wrong!" Emma screams, the her tears now visible.

"He's my, he's my..."

Rumple suddenly hits his Cain roughly against the hospital's floor, a force suddenly throwing Regina and Emma against the floor.

"He is of no concern to you now... " He abruptly turns ending his words.

But Emma did not take it, she quickly makes her way towards the man but is instantly thrown once more by an invisible wall that Gold had no doubt created.

"No!" Emma screams, her hands hitting the floor with frustration.

"Emma pleeease." Regina places her hands gently on the now red hands... the pain in Regina's chest never leaving... this man made Emma feel this pain, a pain Regina's name once took over Emma's heart...

Her child needed her... she could not let this burning jealousy, she could not let the evil in her hurt Emma further.

She grabs her chest through her blouse and caresses Emma's tear stained face.

"We will find a way Emma... we will find a way to get Neal back to you, and... and give you your happy ending." Regina's tears subconsciously fall, her face contorting nothing but sorrow.

...

As soon as Regina's words had slipped out and into her ears, Emma knew.

Regina thought her and Neal were still... she'd forgotten to tell her, to tell her that Neal was everything to her, everything but a lover. He was her best friend, the only true friend she'd ever had...

How could this woman still think such thoughts? Did Emma not moments ago break a curse with her undenying kiss, true... loves... kiss.

How could this woman...

"Emma you will be okay I promise... I will, I will get your love back and..."

"Your mistaken Regina..."

Emma quickly stops her untrue words...

"Mistaken?" Regina repeats in a whisper, sorrow still apparent on her face.

"Neal is... Neal is not my boyfriend, he... he never was, I... I lied." Emma cannot help but lower her last words into a ghost of a whisper, ashamed that she'd lied in the first place, and regrettably embarrassed she'd forgotten to tell the only person she'd ever loved.

Regina's mouth remains still, instantly making Emma grip her own hands tight.

She'd ruined something...

NO... SHE WOULD NOT LET THAT HAPPEN.

"I... " She's continue to open her doors, after all there was no point in closing them.

"I could not let myself love you, I could not let my hands, my mouth, my eyes, my body... take control and do something that they could not control... I had to stop this love... I had just came back and already I wanted you... just like when you'd first found me... I saw your beautiful face, your enchanting eyes look upon my childlike face and put me in a spell... a spell I needed to runaway from... until I was ready for you, until I could take control and..."

"Ha, look what good that did..." Emma smirks shyly, replacing her confession with her current self conscious feelings.

"I... I'm sorry I..."

But as soon as those words escaped Emma's lips, Regina's had found their way against hers, quickly taking a hold of her broad shoulders and poofing them to Regina's safest haven, where no one would see; her vault. her vault of secrets... and Emma was soon to be one as well.


	31. Chapter 31

**As soon as those words escaped Emma's lips, Regina could not help but attach her own against them…**

She could not help but shut Emma's beautiful words and… do what she'd been dying to since their lips first laid upon one another.

She could not hold herself any further, because as soon as those words made their way into her ear drums, the drum in her chest banged against her insides and quickly undid all the doubt, that doubt that told her it was far too late to love Emma in return…. to have Emma love her as she did years ago; and that although she was far too late, although she'd barely known Emma's truth, Emma still felt the same.

She'd somehow felt the same after so many years…

And no one or nothing had stopped her little knight, her knight… from loving her the way that she did.

Emma loved her… Emma romantically loved her, and only her.

She did not love Neal.

Emma… Emma loves only her; the evil queen, her… her mother… a woman she could never have… and yet here they were… somehow pushing against all the odds, against every obstacle that is sure to come their way.

And she… she loved Emma as more than a child; of this she was certain now.

She loved her as a woman would love a man… no, as a woman would love a woman; a Queen and her knight.

They were, they were each others true love's… so their first kiss told.

And although she fears fate… although she fears all the cons that could and would be; right now, in this moment, all that matters is Emma did not love anyone else but…

"I love you." Emma whispers breathless, quickly attaching her lips against hers once more.

Unable to detach what had started.

Regina cannot help but hum into Emma's mouth, an avoidable reaction to Emma's words and lips upon her own.

"Mmmm." She could hear Emma's voice emit a song like sound from her chest, soon followed by Emma's arms taking a strong but gentle hold of her arms. It made her feel something she'd never felt before… not even with Daniel, her sweet stable boy.

She could feel Emma grab her waist from behind and gently push her body against herself.

"Emma." She mumbles; eyes now wide and cheeks stained red with an uncontrollable blush.

Emma was no longer a child… she was a strong, beautiful and a gentle... woman.

"I'm sorry I." Emma quickly lets go, a tint of embarrassment now on her face.

She scratches her head like when she'd done so many times as a child, she was nervous… Regina takes notice and soon feels a warm feeling she did not know could feel quite like… like this kind of love.

"I'm sorry, I've just… I've wanted to do that since I was 12…" Emma confesses, hand still scratching her head, her cheesy smile now present.

"I haven't seen you smile like that since you were a child Emma… I never thought I'd see you so…"

"So happy?" Emma ends her sentence, her voice now low, her mouth now a straight sad line.

"Yes… so cute, my little knight." Regina replies, encouraging her smile to return.

"Mom!" Emma's cheeks quickly turn back to red, her voice 12 again.

Regina's eyes suddenly grow wide, not knowing how to react to Emma's reaction.

"Regina I…" Emma raises her hand to grasps her arm, but she knows they both had to get used to this... She did after all raise her…

She shakes her head, and reaches for Emma's hand instead.

"Do not worry my love, it is…" She cannot help but halt her words. She looks around the cold room, her books and spells surrounding them.

"Emma?" She arches an eyebrow in confusion.

"Regina?" Emma squeezes her hand in comfort and urgency.

"When did we… how are we in my vault?" She asks; her voice now raspy and serious.

She is suddenly answered with laughter, Emma's lips now smiling wide, her laughter confusing her further and enchanting her sweetly.

"What's so funny? I'm being serious Emma." Regina unclasps her hands and Emma's, attaching them directly on her hips and tapping her heel against the floor impatiently.

"Regina, my love… You transported us here the moment you attached your lips onto mine. Do you not remember your eager hands swooshing the air above us and bringing us here?" Emma smiles warmly now, encouraging her to smile.

"Oh dear, how could I…" she places a hand on her head as to think.

"I… all I could think was…." She looks up, a self conscious smile.

"I was scared someone would see us and… and, and really kill me, not only for this curse but for, for kissing you the way that I was… for taking advantage of a child. I wanted us to be alone and attach our lips without a worry… and not be afraid of what those people would do to us… to me." She sighs deeply, unable to look at Emma.

"I guess I didn't realize I'd brought us here… you, you enchant me Emma." She breathes out her last words.

"I won't let that happen Regina." Emma's voice instantly encourages her to look up.

"I will protect you always…" Emma whispers, her eyes looking straight into hers dark pools.

"I promised remember?" Emma smiles knowingly, her words instantly bringing one of her fondest memories back; Emma vowing to be her knight at the young age of 7.

"You did." She whispers, showing that smile only Emma had ever seen.

"Now, what's next? How do we get Neal back and where are we headed?" She quickly asks, almost urgently.

"Emma?" Regina whispers, her heart aching in the process.

"My queen?" She smiles nervously, not used to saying her thoughts so loudly.

"Emma I cannot help but wonder… Your parents? Your real…" Her eyes begin to water; she quickly straightens up and swallows the pain in her words.

"I cannot help but think my love…. You've changed me so Emma… I am no longer that Evil monster I once was… I… I feel you should meet them… and…."

**….**

"No." Emma's voice is almost harsh, but never as harsh as could be… not with Regina.

She could never feel such things with Regina.

"Emma." Regina whispers, her motherly tone present.

No… her concerned lover now present.

"I do not wish to meet the people who abandoned me, who put me in a damn wardrobe and sent me away." She states firmly.

Suddenly making Regina flinch, something she did not want to cause.

"Emma that wasn't their fault… I… "

"Regina please, it was not your…" She is cut off by Regina's trembling hand on her shoulder.

"Emma, we need to talk about... about whom I was and what I did… and…"

"And why you did it? I've only heard one side Regina, all I want to know is why? I cannot blame you for something those people decided to do." She whispers sweetly into Regina's ear.

"Emma no, we need to talk about everything… we need to."

"Shhh!" Emma quickly shushes them both, her body now stiff.

"Did you hear that?" Emma whispers.

"Emma we need to go now!" Regina urges, but she was not moving. No one would harm Regina and she would make sure of it now rather than later.

She swiftly turns, her back now protecting Regina.

"Who goes there?" Emma asks to the nearby footsteps, her hands already clenching into fists.

"Emma is that you?" She hears an all too familiar and warm voice; one she hoped was not against her mother.

But before she can put the name on the voice, two figures show their faces; torches in hand.

"Regina, we need to talk."Anger and hurt written on their faces.

It was Ruby and Granny.


	32. Chapter 32

**She wasn't going to let anyone near Regina, not even them…**

Not even the very women who had been nothing but kind and warm hearted ever since she could remember…. before she'd left and after she'd returned.

Ruby and Granny…

"I'm sorry."

She tightened her fists and moved closer, her chest pushing forward; ready to do what she'd forgotten all these years, what she vowed to since she could remember.

"I can't let you near her."

She'd protect her; she'd protect Regina.

"Emma, wait!" She could feel those motherly... no, those loving hands grip her shoulder, tugging her back.

She turns her head back swiftly, quickly looking at the strong woman she'd been raised by… now so fragile.

"Let them… let them say what they need to say." She can hear Regina's voice quiver and almost waver, she cared about them… didn't she?

"Well there is something we can very well do right now your Majesty…" Emma turns her eyes narrow and on guard, she hadn't heard granny like this since… since Sydney.

Sydney!

Her mother was nothing like that man… she was…

"I am not innocent." She hears that thick beautiful voice contradict her own thoughts from behind.

"Yes, we are very aware of that R.E.G.I.N.A." Ruby steps forward and next to Granny, her voice angry, no humor evident, something she'd never heard from the kind and beautiful woman in front of her.

"Now..." Granny adds.

"I understand you may want to kill me and I completely under…"

Her mother is quickly ignored and asked the one question she was sure they'd been holding in since they found her.

"Was it all an act Child?" Emma's eyes grow wide; Granny's eyes glistened with unshed tears… Ruby slightly pushes the burning torch back, grabbing Granny's hand in the process.

They, they cared about her.

Just like she… they wanted to know if this woman had stolen their hearts just to crush them; like she'd read… and like she was sure they'd seen her do in that enchanted home of theirs.

After all, they knew Regina long before Storybrooke, long before...

…long before their love.

"It was…" Emma's eyes grow wide at Regina's answers; her knuckles now white from the tight grip.

No, the woman Emma knew wouldn't, couldn't be so dark that she'd… not after all that…

"…until it wasn't." She heard Regina whisper almost shamefully behind her.

Emma shuts her eyes and steps back, reaching her hand towards Regina's… when she catches a quick flash of fear in her dark brown eyes.

"Not here Emma…" Regina whispers, her voice warning. She'd barely caught her words, but she'd caught them and they stung.

If she'd touched Regina's hand, she was sure it'd have burned her in that moment, because Regina was scared… scared of "us."

Emma cannot help but look down in something she hadn't felt since before they'd kissed…

Shame…

She shakes her head swiftly, as to not be seen by the others and turns… eyes narrowed once again. She'd protect her no matter what, no matter what.

"…until it wasn't?" Ruby repeats, torch now forward illuminating Regina's features.

"I…" Her mother stumbles. She knows she'd shown the pain, and she knows Regina was conflicted, and all this was too much at once right now.

"Better yet, was Emma… all an act Regina?!" Ruby screams, a growl soon followed.

Her mother's stumble was soon forgotten.

She hears those heels quickly walk past her, her hand unable to grab Regina in time… fear she'd be rejected in tow.

"HOW DARE YOU RUBY!" her mother now stood directly in front of the fire, directly in front of what she'd created… the town's hate and distrust.

"HOW DARE I WHAT REGINA?!" Ruby was now face to face, tears attacking her red rose cheeks.

"HOW DARE I PUT A CURSE ON YOU? YOUR ONLY FRIENDS WHO TRUSTED YOU, WHO HELPED YOU, WHO… WHO LOVED YOU?" Ruby pushes Regina as to push the cause of her pain away.

"Ruby no! be careful she could…"

"Could what Granny?!" Regina's catches her fall, her pain quickly rises.

Emma makes her way behind her, becoming her cloud to fall in, if she chose too.

**….**

"Kill her?" Regina whispers her last words, images of what she would so easily have done once before.

…Before Emma.

"I… I cast a curse to hurt everyone who hurt me… and... And I know what I did was not justified but… but within my pain and loneliness I found Emma… my child…. My… my…"

"Your what?" Granny pushes for a truth.

Regina swallows roughly not able to confess what she'd barely been able to confess to herself.

"She made me feel what I thought I could never feel again…" She chokes on her own words.

"Love..." Granny whispers.

"Yes!" Regina chokes out, unable to explain what kind of love she really meant.

"She's your child… just the way Ruby is mine… you became a mother…" Granny looks into her eyes, understanding now present.

Reina cannot help but grasp her chest, something only Emma can make her do.

"And when I lost her… I found a family who, who really cared for me, who didn't judge me for things I did when I was blinded by hate, by hurt… you didn't want me dead, you wanted to save me." She looks up and directly into their eyes, because they both new what Regina said had truth, they would have easily turned their backs and killed her.

"You took away my Friend, you took away Snow." Ruby reminded her as to remind herself not to fall for all of this, not to fall for the evil queen's once predicted lies.

"I did." Regina assures her, her expression stoic.

"And I cannot change what I did, and would not if I had the chance…"

"You what?" Ruby's eyes shine a sudden gold, a gold Granny and Regina new very well was anger and a soon to be transformation… but she wouldn't let that happen, not in front of Emma, because Emma wasn't the only savior, she'd been Emma's since her tiny hands touched her own… and would always be.

"I took away so much from everyone in this town because… because at the time you all hated and despised me, I wanted control, I wanted MY happy ending… and nothing seemed to be giving it to me… still. I don't know If I will get it, but I do know that I have no regrets Ruby… I found Emma… and Granny and you became something you'd never even think about before the curse… you became my friends… "

"So I have no regrets, and whatever it is you want to do to me… I understand. If you want to help your beloved Snow find me, if you want to give her my head, you may try… but I tell you one things; I have Emma to live for and…"

"I will not let you." She feels Emma's voice suddenly break their trance, surrounding her with warmth and protection furthermore.

**…..**

"I WILL NOT LET YOU." Emma quickly answered for them, no matter what pain she'd felt moments ago, she wasn't letting Regina feel any of it.

"Child…." Granny almost smiles.

"Emma please, tell us… can we trust her? Did she not have you in a curse as well?"

"My love for her is true, and no curse can touch me… I am… I am the savior; I am the one who broke the curse Ruby."

"Then why did you leave so long ago? She never truly told us… why runaway from an evil queen if she is not evil?" Granny asks confused.

"All you need to know Granny is... I'm okay. And Regina would never hurt me, I was a stupid teenager and… I had issues of my own to take care of…. I chose to keep those in my head till we are ready to… till "I" am ready to speak of it." Emma looks down, picking up her mistake. Now was not the time to bring more problems to shore.

Her head quickly rises up, Ruby's words breaking her thoughts.

"We believe you kid." Ruby smiles, her humor almost present.

"We… we believe YOU." Ruby turns to face Regina.

Relief floods into her heart, they would be safe… for now.

"I… thank you." Regina's eyes water, she wished she could hold her now… but…

"Although it will be hard to forgive you, we do love you and… we can help you escape." Granny assures.

Their plans are all suddenly silenced by the man her mother called imp.

"You might not want to do that Dearie…"

"Rumple!" She feels her mother's hands quickly grab her and pull her behind her.

"Where is Neal?!" Emma yells, trying but failing to get in front of the strong woman she calls her mother.

"He is still unresponsive no thank to you SAVIOR." He angrily sings her title.

"Watch it!" Regina spits back.

"Oh my… have you two already?" He snickers pleasingly.

"Shut your mouth you imp." Regina stops him as soon as she'd figured out what he wanted to say. How did he… how did he know?

"As much as I do not thank you for landing Bae in his predicament, I thank you for making the prophecy come true… you've brought me back my son and for that…"

"Heed my warning Ms. Swan…" Emma's eyes go wide.

"If your beloved… M.O.T.H.E.R. steps a foot outside that town line, it is so long to her memories of you or anything for that matter."

"What?! I broke the curse, I…." Emma's eyes grow wider with confusion.

"You're lying, you've always meddled in my life and now…." her mother's voice trembles like her own hands.

"Believe me or not, fact is fact; you broke the curse and now the consequence of having a magic back, a magical land that should not be here is this very thing…"

"YOU MADE ME CAST THIS CURSE, NOW HELP ME..." Her mother's pleads are brushed away by Mr. Gold's last words and a light gust of clouds taking him away.

"Good luck Dearie."


	33. Chapter 33

**She realized than what she'd realized now… this could never work.**

Emma and she would never work…

This was impossible.

They would never understand.

They could never comprehend what she barely could.

These people, these people who've always despised her and now inevitably wanted her dead would never… they'd make it impossible.

Emma and she… were impossible.

These peasants, these people... what would they do?

What would they do?!

They would… they would surely try to not only kill her but worse… take Emma away, and no matter what her new found love for Emma felt like, oh how powerful it felt… Emma would forever be dear to her, a child she raised as her own, and that stood in the way of any possibilities. She was still the Emma she raised, baby Emma, her daughter.

The Evil Queen corrupted this child, their dear Snow's child. She disgustingly calls her… her own daughter, and she dares and calls her… her lover?! That is what they'd surely think before she could muster a word; a smart remark.

How would she fight back, how would she even explain?

Her lips suddenly curl to her thoughts; she joylessly smiles to herself, not noticing Emma staring so deeply at her. Her thoughts feeling like an eternity, but it being just seconds of… seconds of the unstoppable tragedy that was her life.

There was nothing to explain…

Fate was a deceitful thing. She knew than what she knew now and UN-doubtingly always… her fate was to be what she was before Emma, and without; Empty.

The words Maleficent once spoke ring in her head, the consequence of her bitter doings, an emptiness inside her, a void she would never be able to fill.

She could not love Emma the way it was meant to be.

She could not love Emma the way Emma wanted to be, she's always wanted to be...

She'd have to stop what she'd rushed into so very quickly… she needed to kill her fate before fate killed it for her.

She needed to…

"So Gold… Gold made you cast the curse?" She is suddenly cut off; the words she so desperately did not want to say in her head temporarily paused.

"I'm sorry?" Regina whispers, shaking her inevitable actions away, the pain already burning her chest, these thoughts to close to Emma, to close to hurting her repeatedly.

Emma steps closer with wonder and worry in her eyes. "Mr. Gold, the imp… he's the reason you cast the curse?"

She cannot help but clear her throat, so many thoughts and no words… Emma was always such a sweet child, always so defensive about her safety, about why she was upset, or whom had caused her mother to be upset.

Only Emma…

Could Emma truly feel that kind of love, at such a young age… she'd refused to believe so, even after reading Emma's diary, her years of bulged up untold feelings. She'd told herself it was because of her age and sexuality… That maybe if Emma had opened up, Regina could have showed her otherwise… that she could fall in love with any other person… not her mother… not the evil queen...

That kiss confused her so deeply… could it have just been a child's love for a mother that broke the curse? She knew it was possible…

But then why? Why did her lips so eagerly kiss back?

She clears her throat yet again, images of Emma's lips contradicting her plans.

"Yes… but, but he did not force me, the hate I had made it so easy Emma… hate makes things so easy and…"

"But why Regina, why were you so angry…" Regina notices Emma's hands cautiously reach at hers, grasping her finger tips gently.

"Why?"

Emma's voice softly whispers in her ear, as you would a secret.

"My… my love." Regina's eyes grow wide, her heart burning for entirely different reasons, not of heart ache but, but something she could not feel. She would not feel, she would not feel it, she'd protect Emma and… and avoid what was sure to come.

"Emma… I." Regina pulls Emma close, tight into her chest. Just like when Emma would call for her, when Emma needed her as a child… but right now, Regina needed Emma to see, this just could not be.

"Please don't leave me Emma…" Regina's voice trembles.

…**.**

"Leave you?" Emma's eyebrows furrow in utter confusion, is this woman that blind that she doesn't see, they love each other, Emma finally, finally has what she thought she could never…. Why would she…

"I won't leave you Regina, it's the 2 of us now, and... Ruby and Granny said…"

She suddenly hears her mother mumble an almost silent laugh.

"Don't you see Emma? Granny and Ruby…. They can't… this is your Mother Emma.. and a whole village and more who want me dead… and I can't put you through this and…"

Emma gently pushes herself away from the embrace, grabbing Regina's arms reassuringly.

"I would never abandon you Regina, not ever again, not now that we…"

"We can never be Emma." She hears her mother whisper.

Regina turns to her left, staring at anything but her eyes, a tear slides down and grazes her scar, that scar Emma always wondered how she'd gotten, how'd such a beautiful human had gotten such a painful mark.

She could feel her face become pale, her heart already building a wall, that wall she'd barely begun to break down.

"Emma, I… I don't know how I can."

"Do you love me?" She almost yells, frustration and pain in her voice.

"I… I've loved you since I first held you my little knight." Regina's lips tremble.

"But I just cannot love you the way you desire, I…. my judgment is clouded, and I just need time Emma… I do not know what I feel, I… we shouldn't have rushed honey, this is something that should not be…"

"Tell me!" Emma screams, her arms now around herself.

"Emma they might hear us, they might…"

"I am not ashamed Regina." She glares deeply into now unreadable lover?

"They won't let us be Emma, they would rather kill me and… I DO NOT MIND DYING IF YOU ARE SAFE EMMA, I'M YOUR MOTHER AND…."

"But that's the thing Regina… you aren't my mother." Emma tightens her arms around herself further.

"Snow is my mother and I will go to her if I must, I will beg for her to spare you, I do not care." her tears inevitably fall.

She was so tired of feeling like this.

"Don't cry my Emma, pleeeease." She can feel Regina's arms encircle her in response.

"How could you mother, how could you rip out my heart and…" She buries her head into Regina's chest, seeking her mother's comfort, even though it was this same woman that hurt her so.

…..

Regina shakes her head roughly, she thought she could…

"Emma listen, Emma my darling listen…" She gently shushes.

She lifts Emma's chin into her hands and whispers the words contrary to her plan.

"Just, just give me time… I… let's... take... whatever this is slow okay? We can figure all of this after this mess I've put us in… we can…"

"Do you love me?"Emma mutters, her eyes wide; Regina's heavy heart stops.

"I… I do." Regina looks down shamefully, an all too recognizable face in Emma's life.

"Like… like…" Emma musters.

Regina could feel Emma's weight lean forward, her lips so close, her mouth leaning in and…

"No! Emma wait, I…." She softly grabs Emma's face and says the unthinkable, something she had not said since Daniel.

"We can hide… we can hide this. Keep this… keep this a secret Emma… I still need time but when we… when we do… It needs to… we cannot let anyone know. You see, you have to see…. " She squints her eyes tight. This was not the plan!

She expects Emma to scream, to cry to even leave… but all she feels is a set of warm soft lips press against her tear stained cheek.

"I can do that." Emma whispers.

Regina's eyes are wide; she cannot deny it can she?

And then she hears that smart mouth, that mouth that Emma caught in New York, the woman she was still getting to know and already began to fall for.

"Besides, if I can wait 15 years… I can wait forever." Emma smirks teasingly.

She cannot help but lean her forehead against this woman, this woman she could not wait, and hoped get to know and love that way.

"Okay." She whispers in return.

"Deal, now let's go figure out what we can do next."

She cannot help but smile, such an uncalled for situation they were in, but she could not help herself, Emma was smiling, that smile had returned, Emma had returned.


	34. Chapter 34

**They'd been searching for hours… **

Ever since…Ever since their memories came rushing back.

Those long forgotten memories, memories that she'd almost wished had not returned, if it meant the pain would seize; the pain of knowing she'd missed and forgotten everything, she'd missed…

"Regina." She whispers to herself, her eyes enraged and broken; her hands tightening into her lost lovers warm arms as they searched for _that_ woman and _their_ daughter.

Where was she, this unchangeable woman who she could not believe she once thought could change…

REGINA?

No.

STEP MOTHER?

No.

The Evil Queen...

Yes.

Yes, because after this… after what she'd done, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that she was indeed unchangeable and dark. Where could she be, where could The Evil Queen be? And most importantly, most heartbreakingly; where was her daughter.

Where was… _Emma?_

Emma! Oh dear gosh, right in front of her very eyes… she knew it in the deepest of her hearts that this girl… this baby was special to her; her loneliness instantly gone as her memory's resurfaced.

She'd send their only hope away… away to a land where the Queen would never, would never harm her and her prince's child.

The _Saviour! _

_Oh gosh, _her baby… her Emma.

She'd saved them after all… but the price, oh gosh the price… so much time taken away from them both; from Charming and herself… from _David_ and herself.

"EMMA?!" they both screamed in unison, hoping that together they'd somehow magically track her.

Snow cannot help but clench his hand, immediately receiving a tight squeeze in return.

"It will be okay Snow, we found each other…" his eyes glisten, unshed tears.

She smiles half heartedly but encouraged none the less.

"Let's find our daughter." She whispers to her prince, Mary Margaret temporarily gone and replaced with the ever so eager and brave Snow White.

She'd felt a rush of wind hit her like lightning, and her eyes become dreadfully heavy. She was Mary Margaret… NO, she was Snow White!

And she knew since the first day she laid eyes on that blonde headed baby… she was hers.

The curse had been broken and since that lightning hit them with their truth, they'd never stop searching, they'd get Emma back.

Not 10 minutes had passed since the curse was shattered, before her and her loyal friends ran to confront the Queen, she'd been so close. Until Regina did what she'd always do… destroy her happiness, she'd vanished in an unfamiliar white cloud of smoke and taken Emma anew.

Where was she, this unchangeable woman who she could not believe she once thought could change…

Regina would never change.

"Let's keep looking common!" Charming yells and everyone follows ready to take back what was taken, ready to finally bring down the woman they once called their Mayor.

…**..**

**(STORYBROOKE TOWN HALL) **

Ruby and Granny had called Regina as soon as they could. The town hall seemed to be the most deserted place they could find, and for that Emma was thankful, a sigh of relief showing Ruby and Granny just how thankful she truly was.

She couldn't help but feel like she was fourteen again; running in the streets and hunting for a safe place to stay. But this… this was different, she wasn't that child anymore, she'd stop anyone who dared hurt Regina. No one would hurt her; this is something Emma would make sure of, something Regina had never denied her, safety.

"So I think you are good to make a stop a quick stop at the mansion, pack your bags and…"

Ruby is gently cut off by a hand on her shoulder.

"There is something you two need to know…"

"What could be worse than being cursed for 20 something years and not remember you were once a wolf, no wait… that you CAN remember that you were a wolf." Ruby looks down self consciously, all humor gone.

"Wait, you were a what?" Emma blinks in disbelief, processing quicker than she'd like.

There was no normal in this town, this shouldn't shock her. Her life was never normal…

"a wolf, a quite enticing creature if I may add." Regina enlightens my puzzled state, not only teaching me but trying to comfort an obvious self conscious Ruby.

Ruby's lips curl into a half hearted smile, mouthing a thank you towards the beautiful brunette who'd raised her.

"Now as I was saying." She could tell Regina had caught her staring, a lump visibly going down her mother's throat.

"Stepping one foot out of this town, out of Storybrooke would be ill advised." She sharply adds her gaze now serious.

"What do you mean child." Granny urges; pressing her glasses further into the direction of her face as if to help her understand how the one option that would fix all their problems is not an option at all.

"I cannot step foot passed that town line, no one can." She looks down shamefully.

"Regina…" She wants to stretch her hand out and comfort her face but… she knows now was not that time. She wasn't sure when it would be.

What she did know was that it was her turn to look down.

"Wait…" Ruby walks around in a quick circle, clapping her hands together as if she'd solved their problem.

"The tower, the one you made us built that day you'd left…" Her eyes gaze in astonishment.

"That's why you wouldn't let us step foot outside that line!" Ruby exhales loudly.

"You do care child." Granny whispers kindly towards Regina's fumbling hands.

"I… I could go out than because I took that chance, that chance to find Emma… I did not know what the consequences would be and I would not let someone else pay it for me." She continues to leak this information she long held from her…_friends_ Emma thinks.

At least something good came out of her absence. She highly doubts they'd even say hello to each other if she'd stayed.

"You risked yourself for Emma; that is ay okay in my book." Ruby's red lips cannot help but grin wider than she'd previously done. She really liked this wolf girl Emma could not help but think.

"Oh gosh…" Emma cannot help but mutter in response to Ruby's words. She risked herself for me… far too many times I can't… she ignores the hurt she feels.

"But why can't you now?" A familiar voice says from behind them all.

"Graham." My mother's eyes are wide; mine unsure of what to feel.

"Graham I'm so ..."

"My heart… when can I have it back _my queen_?" He stares with all seriousness.

"Graham, I…"

He shuts her off, something she thought she'd never see this loyal man do.

"I don't know what to feel, and I don't know if it is because my empty chest or because I genuinely thought I cared."

The room is silent, everyone understanding the Sheriff's dilemma.

His heart? Had Regina…

"My vault, you know where it is." Regina stares intently and almost demanding.

"The 3rd box from left to right, their you will find your…" her eyes instantly soften as to apologize without words.

"your heart." She nods.

"I'm leaving Regina, even if it means losing my memories. I had nothing to live for then or now; I am no longer your servant." He looks at her one last time before he turns and walks away.

"Thank you." She whispers towards the fleeing footsteps, his head never turning back, and his feet never stopping.

"Sooo, the curse broke and the consequence of that is… we lose our memories if we try to leave." Emma breathlessly ends the conversation. Not saddened by Graham's abandonment, just thankful for what he'd done.

"So in other words, Emma is ready to get the hek outta here, because if Graham knew you were here Snow is surely on her way." Ruby adds.

**…...**

I would say it now before our time was surely out.

"Emma, we have to split up. It's the only way for us right now… it's"

"NO." Emma does not let her finish.

"Emma I think your mom's got a point here." Ruby gently says, supporting the only thing everyone knew was best.

"I can't."

"Yes you can Emma." I whisper sternly, my hand gently squeezing her broad shoulder.

"Ugh!" Emma shakes her head, as if too get her thoughts together.

"You're right." Emma's eyes become those eyes she'd only seen when she'd defend her as a child and when she came back to Storybrooke, a knight.

"I was a bail bonds person, I know what we have to do, but I don't… I don't like it Regina." Emma's eyes plead those last words.

But Granny, Granny does not give them a choice or time for farewells; she suddenly pulls Regina the opposite direction, towards the back exit.

"I'm sorry Child; I need to get _this_ child to safety." Granny pulls on my arm as if to outrun the rabble.

"Hold on tight." I assure her. I quickly turn back to look into a worried Emma's eyes heading the opposite direction as I disappear into the familiar purple smoke and away from my demise.


	35. Chapter 35

**And as soon as she looked back into my worried eyes, they'd disappeared into that purple smoke she wished she was a part of… **

"Don't worry Emma, she'll be okay." Ruby tightens her grip in my hand, a quick gesture that should have comforted her.

"I know Ruby, thank you." But it just didn't

Before Ruby could push the buildings doors entirely open she quickly closes them shut.

"Shit." She mutters; her brown eyes now gold and wide.

I know that look, she had that look not too long ago, when she almost…

"Ruby, don't" I grab her shoulders tightly and gently shake her, reminding her that whatever she wanted to do was not their answer, Granny's fearful eyes were information enough to tell Emma that whatever Ruby was, was not good for either one of them.

'Hey wolf girl." Emma whispers, remembering Regina's words.

"It's okay." She calmly adds, Ruby's eyes now brown, her breaths steady.

"Well it might be for me Emma." Ruby stares straight into her eyes thankfully.

"But Snow and Charming, the rabble… they are outside and heading straight into the town hall."

"Shit." It was Emma's turn to curse at the un-cursed town. She bites her lip tight, letting all panic subside.

Emma was not one to stay still in situations like these; she'd been through far too much to just let shit happen, besides life… her job had its perks, she wasn't a sheriff but she had authority and she knew the laws, because no matter what this town was still just that, a town.

"Ruby, you stay here. I'm going to go have a talk, if anyone could stop them it's me."

"Emma but…" Ruby instantly disapproves.

"I am Snow White's daughter after all, I'm all they want." Ruby's silent, understanding the sense in my actions.

"I think it's time for a long awaited reunion."

…

Blue said she'd spotted them running into the town hall, oh gosh she'd hoped Emma was there, her child, her baby.

She'd hope Regina hadn't done further harm, she'd hope Emma was just behind those…

"doors." She whispers, her voice ripped away as soon as she'd seen those doors burst open, a beautiful blonde haired woman walking out and straight towards them. A woman she'd reunited with not so long ago, a woman she was really looking at now; those red lips, pale skin, rosy cheeks, and charming features.

"Emma…" The baby Regina had adopted, the girl she'd secretly helped learn how to read, the girl she always looked forward to bumping into school, the girl she so desperately looked for after the news of her disappearance; her daughter.

Her arms and feet begin to carry her unconsciously towards the blonde, Charming following right beside her, in the same trance.

"Oh Emma…" Both their arms outstretch, encircling her in a long awaited embrace.

"It's the Savior, its Emma!" Grumpy and the gang yell in unison, rejoicing over the reunion.

"Oh Emma I haven't held you since, since…" Charming mumbles, his tears present.

….

"Since you put me in a wardrobe and abandoned me?" Emma cannot help but ruin their short lived reunion. Their embrace felt so warm and so, familiar, yet….

The feelings she hadn't had time to process came crashing in that moment. Her parents abandoned her, her 'real' parents left her. Just like those kids in the foster system, she could have easily been… so much could have happened to her, yet these people just let her go so easily, so…

"Emma no, that's not what…" Charming began to sincerely explain, hurt evident in his handsome face, a face Emma knew she shared a small resemblance too.

"Regina, The Evil Queen she was going to…" Snow began, but I would not let her.

"Destroy your happiness?" Emma already knew; the book this woman gave her long ago explaining all that needed to be explained.

"Emma, it was the only way… "

"How is putting a child in a wardrobe and sending her into a portal to an unknown world the only way?!" Her voice cracks with disbelief.

"Emma, your mother and I we wanted to, but we couldn't… you don't understand."

"She would have killed you!" Snow finishes his sentence, and Snow is all she could call her… this wasn't Mary Margaret anymore, Mary Margaret knew what Regina had done for her, she'd saved a potential orphan form a world that could have easily destroyed their daughter, she gave her everything, she…

"She saved me." Emma whispers, her eyes serious.

"She what?" Charming looks around confused. He briefly knew the situation certainly; after all he had just woken up.

"She adopted me, she raised me as her own, and loved me as if I was of her own blood." She states the facts, something they both could never deny.

"You know… off course." That's when Emma sees it, the Mary Margaret in her.

"Yes, Regina told me and I… I forgive her." Emma inhales deeply, not adding anything else.

"And you two out of everyone should see that and STOP what you are doing." Emma exhales the words she'd been holding in since she'd stepped out of the town hall.

….

"And what are we doing Emma?" I question my daughter, fearing what I know she thinks… what I know Charming and I had been thinking, what all of us had been thinking.

"You want her dead." Our daughter disapprovingly looks at us as if we are animals, as if she won't accept any of our words until she knows… until she knows we won't hurt her. The woman who stole my daughter…

"The woman, the woman who took you in and fed you, clothed you and…" Charming began to process.

"Yes… David?" Emma questions his name.

"It's Charming but… David here I suppose." He shrugs, not caring what his daughter called him.

"Emma we…" That's when Snow and Charming realize… they aren't savages, they aren't monsters, and they were… good. All they wanted was their daughter back and…. She realizes than that revenge was not something that they ever believed in, they believed in hope and… and love. And right now Emma was not going to be a part of their lives if killing Regina was an option. Oh the pain and anguish she felt, it was undeniable… the queen stole her child but right now, right now what mattered was they had Emma back.

"We won't kill anyone!" Charming states out loud, turning around and facing their people.

"We will not kill the queen!" He yells, gaining instant disapproval from some and silence from others.

"But your majesty she…" someone began to say.

"That is not and has never been our way, you all know this." Snow explains, her powerful and loving voice reminding everyone of their ways.

"Although we do demand justice, death is not the answer. Right now, most importantly… you have your princess back, the savior and SHE has broken the curse, something you owe her is sparing the Mayors life." Charming adds; their speech certain and final.

….

"The Savior…" Emma whispers in question, she did not feel like a savior, but right now that did not matter, right now she stopped Regina from being…

"Emma!" Granny interrupts, the tension momentarily paused. She'd come running straight through the mob and into Emma's worried expression.

"Granny?!" Ruby crashes though the halls doors, surely hearing her from the inside.

….

"Ruby…" a friend of hers she thought she'd never see again.

"Snow…" Ruby quickly hugs her one arm on her own and the other reaching for Granny.

"What's wrong Grams, where's Regina?" Ruby asks tentatively, worry written all over her face.

Snow cannot help but look back and forth between them both, wondering if Ruby and Granny had gotten their memory's back, because all snow could see was worry and love… as if they'd been helping her all this…

"Where is she dammit!" She hears her daughter yell impatiently, a worry spread across her beautiful rosy cheeks, her teeth grinding with anxiety, like Charming did countless times in the enchanted forest, protecting her.

"Another Mob, they ambushed us and, I couldn't…" Granny pulls Emma's arm impatiently.  
"Common she's at the mansion; we have to go stop them before…"

"Let's go!" Charming grabs my hand, Emma already running ahead of us all, I see my husband show a hint of a smirk, surely noticing what I also see… she looks like a knight, a savior, but before we can all follow further a white cloud wraps around our daughter running form and takes her away."

"EMMA!" I scream, Charming and I stopping our trail.

"It's okay Snow, Ruby keeps running, Emma has magic… she's just running ahead."

We both shake our head in disbelief, worry and confusion entangling our hearts, but our feet keep on running, ready to defend, not Regina but our daughter.

…

Whale… his hands were already on my throat, my breaths already coming short, my magic… it wasn't working, I can't… I feel my arms go limp, everyone else quiet with the anticipation for her death, she was sure.

"Em-ma…" She tries to say, her last breath only a few blinks away.

"I will take your life as you took all my work, all my hopes of bringing my brother back." I hear him whisper, his grip tighter than before. I would never see her again, I would never…

"Let her go, let her go!" His hands are suddenly ripped away from my surely bruised neck, my knees go weak, but before I can collapse onto the ground I feel a pair of arms hold me up…

"Mary Margaret…" I whisper, my eyes barely able to open.

"Ruby…" I smile, as much as my mouth allows me to.

"We got you Regina… it'll be okay." She smiles, reassuring me of my safety.

"Emma… "I ask worriedly, my voice raspy and in pain.

"She..." I look up in time to see her, in time to see…

…

"We are not murderers here." she has whale by his collar now, not caring who he was or is.

"You forget we are not from this land Ms. Swan." His smirks, his voice full of disdain.

"Well you are now and…" She does what David did not so long ago, she turns around to face the mob and heed them not a speech but a warning.

"Whoever lays a finger on the Mayor will suffer the consequences, we are no longer in whatever land you all came from, we are in this one, and whoever dares to defy this, I will put behind bars!"

She climbs up the porches stairs and stands in front of her queen.

"Because from here on out, I am this towns Sheriff and you shall do what the law says."

"Who are you, why would we…."

"It's Emma you fools!" Granny climbs up those stairs standing by my side.

The town audibly gasps; they'd surely realized she'd return to town eventually.

"And she is our daughter." David joins granny and crosses his arms, calling me something I still was not comfortable with them saying.

The mob instantly realizes they've lost the fight and begin to leave and head back to their homes.

"We will find a way to get us all back, we can assure you that much." Snow yells, this was something Emma would deal with later.

Right now she needed Regina.

She turns around back to her reality, the only thing that mattered.

"Regina…" Emma reaches out and caresses her face, ready to take her in her arms and take her into safety.

"My…lo.."

"Emma please, take me inside." Regina's raspy voice stops me from jeopardizing us further, Snow and Charming's eyes on them both.

"Yes mother, you'll be okay, do not worry." She gently squeezes her hand.

"How could I worry, I have the Sheriff protecting me…" She lightly jokes, her weak eyes telling me she's sorry.

"Yes that is what I am, isn't it; the town's sheriff."


	36. Chapter 36

**Emma truly was the perfect Sherriff, the perfect knight…**

She always had been. Ever since that rosy-cheeked child locked her tiny fingers around her own.

And right now…

She did that very thing, Emma held her hand.

It was as if the past was all planned out and ready to destroy them, even then. Emma, she held on tight, fingers laced in between her own… just like, just like before, like their first meeting, their first touch.

"Emma, I'm… I'm okay." Regina squeezes her hand, assuring her that she was no longer in any danger, but the sound of her wavering and raspy voice told another story.

"No you're not okay, you were just…"

She refuses to let Emma continue, she does not let Emma outstretch her hand further, not in front of… not in front of _them_.

Emma pushes and ignores her, stretching her hand further towards her bruised neck, ignoring what they'd talked about, what she still feared and had not fully accepted.

Her eyes are unable to retain a flinch, her hands quickly wrap around her own neck, not letting Emma break her word, not letting Emma caress her bruised skin.

"Honey, I'm fine…" She whispers, her motherly instincts taking control.

"Mom… I." Emma's eyes grow wide, Regina smiles warmly as to not cause a stir in the stubborn blonde. Yes, Emma was always that, a stubborn child… but only when it came to protecting her.

Her little knight…

The towns Sheriff…

Her hand unconsciously reaches out instead and pats Emma's shoulder gently, like the years had never gone by.

"You're a Sheriff now Emma." She uncontrollably smiles; even though moments ago she was sure she'd breathe her last breath.

Granny had told her not so long before Emma disappeared that horrible night. She'd told her she was sure her child would become the town's next sheriff, something Regina at the time did not take serious until… until those many years apart and many repeated days of reading Emma's journal convinced her otherwise. Emma was so young, so eager…

And now, now there was no doubt, no doubt at all… Emma kept and accomplished all those promises.

Those promises she made that night…

She was undeniably an adult, a Sheriff and… and something she could not fathom, something she would have never… no, it wasn't written yet. Fate was cruel; fate was undeniably her worst enemy, their worst enemy.

The one thing Emma wanted, Regina wasn't sure she could give, she wasn't sure if it could ever really happen.

"I..." she can see Emma cough awkwardly, being shy wasn't something Emma was used to anymore. Being _vulnerable_ was something she wasn't used to anymore.

She stops her thoughts before she can blame herself even further, more things to add to her list of guilt and burned bridges.

"I wasn't going to let Whale, or whoever the hell he is kill you." Regina can see Snow and Charming from the corner of her eye, holding each other closer than before, surely wondering how and why "their" princess would care so much for someone who'd tried to kill them countless times in their not so distant past.

Emma's eyes are now eager as she stares at everyone who entered their home, and stood around them.

"And those people, they wouldn't listen… it was my only shot at saving you, and I don't regret it." Emma states firmly, any sign of nervousness gone.

"And if anyone tries to hurt you Mother, prison won't be the only thing they will worry about."

"Emma…" she hears Snow whisper near her.

Regina cannot help but feel her throat ache far worse than the physical damage Whale had caused.

Snow…

"Honey your father and I…" Regina dares not turn to look at them; she cannot go through any of it, not now.

"Mary Margaret, I…" Emma steps beside me and gently turns me to face them, her arm gently around me.

"Thank you for doing what you did, I…"

"Your father David Emma, he's the one that…" She can hear Snow's hopeful words try to convince Emma that they indeed were _both_ her parents now, a mother and a father.

Regina's hands inevitably begin to sweat. Yes, that is true now; Emma has a father, something Emma was denied so greedily by her. She looks down in shame.

"David… I." She can hear Emma pause and hold her breath, surely not knowing what to say to something she never had.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you and… I don't know what to say, I." Emma reaches her hand towards mine and laces her fingers with my own.

"Regina, she… she took care of me, you both abandoned me or that is what I feel. I know the facts and I know she's done terrible things that most would want her dead for, but she raised me and took me in, she…"

"She's the Childs mother." Granny finally speaks, making her feel a jolt of hope? from the people she almost wished hated her.

"Snow, we know what Regina did was…" Ruby begins.

"She took our child Ruby." Snow's eyes begin to fill with the tears, tears that Regina had stolen with her memories.

"She's our friend." Ruby adds heartbreak evident in her wolf friend's eyes.

"Ruby, how…" Snow seems incapable to process her friend's words.

"We know what she did is wrong, so wrong… but she gave us all a home, she gave me a new beginning, one where I am not a monster. And Emma…"

"She stole her from me!" Snows voice forces everyone to blink and look her way; Emma tightens her hold on her forever un-aged hand.

She couldn't let her go through this; she can't let Emma feel this… this is her fault, for this she'd take all the blame.

"Lock me up." She sternly says, ignoring what was certain to come.

"Wait what?!" Emma quickly lets go of her hand and steps back in confusion, pain already visible in her voice.

"Regina what are you d…?" Emma was not going to let this happen, but Regina knew, she knew it had to be done.

…

She was not going to let anyone put Regina in any cell, no one was putting Regina in a….

"Emma." She hears a gentle male voice fill her now reddened ears.

She turns to see David… a few steps closer, his hand now on her shoulder; hesitant but loving.

She couldn't deny that no matter what she'd said and felt, somewhere inside herself she felt a connection, something she'd never felt with any other man but Neal.

"I think Regina… I think your mother has a point." He called Regina her mother, he… it hurts him, yet he called Regina her mother.

"David what are you?" Snow steps forward tears now stains.

He holds her hand gently, the way Emma wheld Regina's moments ago. She could see so much of herself in him, there was no denying it, but what was he… what was he saying?!

"Look, although your mother and I do not trust her." he looks directly into Regina's eyes, anger and pain as evident as snows yet thankful in a way.

"After what she did, she took you away… had her guards stab me and left for dead, separated your mother and I… she, she took care of you, and this is why I stood up for her out there, that and you. You love her and I love you, I wasn't going to become your enemy right when I had just gotten you back now was I?" He smiles sincerely.

"But you want to put her in a cell and…"

"For now..." He begins to explain.

"I think I see where David is going." Ruby shakes her head in understanding and dislike.

"We lock her up for a few days; give the people what they want…"

"I'm not doing that I…" she begins to raise her voice not liking what she hears.

"We will release her as soon as she's in there, it's just to keep a rabble from forming again, to keep _her_ safe."

"_Not them…_" Regina whispers.

"Emma we have to do this..." she hears Regina's voice whisper near her ear.

It was Regina's turn to grab Emma's shoulders and gently turn her to look into her eyes.

"It's to keep me safe, and most importantly… you safe." Regina does not ask, she is demanding. Somewhere inside herself, Emma could never say no to her, somewhere inside, she was still the woman who raised her.

The woman she'd been in love with since…

"Ugh!" She hated this.

And the most unfortunate thing about this hideous plan was that it would probably work. It'd probably help protect us, and give us time to figure out what we could do next.

"I don't like it Regina…" She whispers back, her eyes surely filled with unshed tears.

"But it's the only way…" She smiles gently; reassuring Emma that somehow it will be okay, somehow this woman's smile could so easily make her fall for anything.

"Under one condition…" She wasn't holding her tongue.

"Yes…" David gently asks.

"I get to be there 24/7 in the station, no one comes in or out." She sternly looks his way.

"You got it." He sternly looks back at her, a charming smile convincing her that he won't do anything to tarnish this plan.

…..

"And David…" Regina steps in front of him.

"Charming…" She corrects her mistake.

"Thank you…" She swallows sharply, the words she once could have never said to this man easily slips from her tongue.

"Don't, it's for Emma…" He turns away quickly, leaving Snow to face her instead.

"Mary Mar…" her words instantly becomes Regal, knowing very well Snow did not deserve it.

"Regina…" Snow's mouth trembles, something she hadn't seen the strong warrior do since she'd threatened her unborn child.

"I'm…" She tries to say those words, but somewhere inside herself, she isn't sorry… she would have never raised Emma, she would have never.

"Don't you dare say it…" She quickly recovers her trembling voice.

"You took her Regina, and… and so much of my time I searched and searched for _YOUR_ Emma, the pain in my heart confused at why I cared so much for YOUR daughter, when you very well knew she was _MINE_." Her tears had returned and this is where regret conquered.

"Thank you." Was all she could mouth.

"Thank you?" Snow's eyes grow wide like Emma's did so many times before, so identical it stung.

"I won't apologize for taking anyone; fate is the bigger monster between it and I…" she shakes her head disapprovingly.

"All I wanted was Revenge, I wanted to be happy… it gave me Emma… my worst enemy's child and I… I loved her the moment I first laid eyes on her, she… I didn't know at first, I can assure you this if it brings any sort of comfort… But I cannot apologize because she gave me life… she gave me what you took, she gave me a happy ending." She looks down, away from Snow's gawking eyes.

"Regina…" She can hear Emma call her name behind her, a shudder following her name.

"And… thank you, thank you for helping me look for my daughter when you did, without you, Ruby, or Granny… the darkness would have surely destroyed me." She quickly turns away from Snow's gaze, and straight into Emma's emotional ones, she smiles warmly assuring her of the truth she just said.

"Can I…" Snow begins, but Emma gently pushes me behind her and is ready to answer Mary Margaret's instead. She always knew when enough was enough for her.

"Yes Mary Margaret?" Emma sincerely urges her.

"Your room, your clothes, baby clothes, pictures… can I look through and…"

"Off course you can… as soon as Regina is safe, as soon as we know she'll be okay…. I will personally go through my room with you." Emma smiles comfortingly.

And Regina knows this is what they both may need.

"And Snow… thank you for being my friend when I was a child, you did more than you could imagine for me." Emma smiles warmly, unable to call her mom, but able to appreciate Mary Margaret.

"Alright, now that that's done… let's get Regina into that cell and go talk to these people." Ruby breaks the moment, ready to help.

"Free burgers and drinks for the rabble, to celebrate our freedom, on me." Granny adds.

Regina cannot help but grin.

"A little persuasion never hurt anyone." Regina winks as she tries to calm her nerves and hold on to her friends comforting help.

"Let's get going." Regina doesn't let her answer and grabs a hold of the nearest blazer on the rack.

"Well Madam Mayor, seems like your eager to go down to the station." Emma smiles sweetly, easily relaxing her heart.

"No thanks to a bright Sherriff in town." She playfully adds as she nervously avoids the worry she knows they both feel.


	37. Chapter 37

"**Graham, what are you…" **

"What are you doing here?" Emma helps her now handcuffed mother finish those words, both certainly eager to know what the man was still doing in his old office.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that same question My Quee…" He stops himself; Emma slightly relieved knowing now what those words truly meant when she was that wreck of a teen.

"I'm here because…" She can see Regina look down, her beautiful regal face contemplating, something Emma had seen far to many times in her lifetime, something she'd helped cause practically her whole lifetime.

"Because, the Queen is getting what she deserves Graham," Her mothe… Snow answers him sternly, as to not break what they'd all agreed upon.

Her fists automatically clench, she knows Mary Margaret's words aren't true but hearing her say them… she didn't like it.

"Emma, your mother…" It was grahams turn to contemplate.

"Her mother is right here Graham." Snow now stands directly by my side; she can feel Regina's free fingers graze her hand that held her confined ones.

Even if these cuffs were all for show, she did not like this, she did not like placing her mother in her yellow bug in those terribly uncomfortable chains, in the backseat, like a criminal.

Those stares, those smiles, those familiar friendly faces happy to see she'd returned but also happy to see her mother being brought to the sheriff's station and being put behind bars.

And now, now _he_ was here, her childhood obstacle, the man who made her feel so unworthy, so envious… still, somehow.

She squeezes Regina's hand gently in return, assuring her that no matter what Snow said, whether true or not, no one would replace the memories Regina gave her; the only true memories this town had truly had.

Graham steps forward and directly in front of his once Queen, so close that she could see Regina flinch, she finds her arm reflexively go around Regina's waist, tugging her closer to herself, closer to safety. No one was going to make this woman feel any more pain… not anymore.

She wouldn't, she couldn't let that happen.

"You do love her…" Graham whispers, his eyes now on hers.

"She is my mother after all." Emma confirms what he'd asked her earlier, not caring if her biological parents were right there, right next to her and surely in pain as well.

"Then why cuff her if?" He raises an eyebrow, accusing her of the obvious.

"Isn't this what you want, what they all want?" Emma grinds her teeth, accusing him in return.

"It's what I want… to want." He faces her mother once again.

"Regina…" His frown unmistakably forms a hint of a smile.

She sees her mother's majestic smile almost appear.

"I followed your every order, your every need, no questions asked…. always." He adds.

"And I Graham, am never going to deny those things." Her mother assures him.

"You kept me as your huntsman's, no memories but that of obedience…" Regina shows him what she'd only showed Ruby and Granny, shame.

"I did." she hears her mother's monotone rugged voice agree.

"You're wondering why I am still here." He doesn't ask, he just states as if he knew Regina more than anyone in this room; more than her.

She can see her mother sternly wait for a reason, one they both did not see reason in.

For Emma, part of that reason she hoped wasn't that he loved her more than she'd always questioned.

"Your little knight," He whispers.

Emma's eyes shoot up, her glaring eyes now wide.

"I'd never seen you here nor there… the enchanted forest I mean, I remembered," He breathes out gently.

"You'd never smiled, never worried, never loved, not until I saw you adopt that child, the child you so lovingly called your little knight, that child you never stopped looking for… the child I would never stop looking for." He outstretches his strong arm and squeezes her mother's shoulder kindly but stern.

"You did what you did but I… I did what I did for you because you loved her. You loved her and I saw nothing in my life, nor there nor here that I wanted to do more than help you… because I once knew of love, and now… now that my heart has been returned… I hold no hatred for you."

He lets go, his squeeze but a ghost.

"I must go as promised, but I had to find you and let… let you know, let you and let myself know… you are not as evil as everyone believes."

He looks behind us both, staring directly at a now embraced Snow and David.

"Protect her, she truly loves the Sheriff." He tells them sternly, looking directly into my eyes, a small smile evident as he acknowledges that that is what I am from here on out, the towns Sheriff.

He says no more and swiftly walks by them all, not looking back again, now surely truly leaving this cursed place.

…..

Graham had gone, he'd truly gone and all that remained was these chains that contained her, that and her beloved knight...

Her eyes grow wide and unnoticed. Since when had she added those words, those words meant for a man she'd long lost years ago, those words meant for someone you caress and hold and kiss, those words meant for…

_Beloved_.

"Emma."

"Yes my quee…" She can see Emma's mouth shut tight. Surely Grahams speech had made her repeat such words; words she did not dare let Emma say, not ever again, not in front of…

"Yes Mom?" Emma lays her hand gently on her shoulder, where Grahams had only been a few moments ago. Regina looks quickly and away, noticing the not so different strength they had in their hands. Emma had come back, and she was so…

"Lock me up." She cuts her own thoughts.

"It's time Emma." She adds with reassurance.

"I… I know." Emma sternly replies, taking a hold of her restrained hands and guiding her to her temporary cell.

"I, I love you." Emma mutters from behind her.

She cannot help but shudder at her words, those last words Emma whispered sweetly before closing and locking those bars behind her; those words she'd long to hear again for so many years without her.

She refuses to look back, she refuses to look back into Emma's eyes and stays still, head now down as she looks at nothing but the dirty cement floor she now stood upon.

"Regina." Emma calls her name, something she'd already gotten used too since she'd arrived, something that she thought had upset her, but oddly filled her heart just the same.

She refuses to turn, not now, not when her head was doing so much. She could not show Snow or David any of it… her fear, her contemplation, her pain, she refused to let them see her defeated and in this cell.

…

"Emma, honey let her be..." Snow knew Regina at some point, some time, she new her before she was Mayor and before she was evil.

She could still so easily tell when her stepmother needed space, needed to be alone, yes she was angry… so angry, but some part of her fairy tale heart could so easily feel a hint of care for the woman who'd saved her life so many years ago.

Her friends, Graham… the things they'd said.

The Evil Queen she had known would have never… she'd never cared for anyone the way they all had spoken of, not even for her when she'd been that child she'd eventually call her daughter.

Her daughters eyes turn anxiously to see her own.

Emma had truly always been concerned for Regina, always so anxious to make her happy.

Always protecting her…

She couldn't remember a day in school that Emma did not mention Regina. That was unless she was writing or asking her what a word meant and how to properly end her run on sentences.

"Oh Emma." She soothingly responds, the way she'd always console her back when Emma was just a 7th grader and so confined.

Snow knew even than, Emma was special… so special, and now… now that she knew why she'd felt that spark, that connection, the young Emma she once knew, the young Emma she wished she'd gotten to know so much more of was undeniably an adult and… the way she was now, the way she protected Regina, Snow didn't know if it was even possible for Emma to love her the way she loved Regina, the way she always dreamt of it.

…

"Mary Margaret." She responds looking down; feeling that distant but familiar warmth Mary Margaret had always offered her as a kid.

The only thing missing was her diary hidden behind her back.

"Emma maybe Regina needs to be alone, just to collect her…"

"I told you both, that isn't going to happen…. I can't Mary Mar,"

"Snow." She corrects herself, now causing a flinch on not only Regina, but also Snow now as well.

"She needs clothing, a blanket, some food, maybe we can…"

Emma realizes she hadn't thought about the obvious, she needed Regina to be as comfortable as possible yet she'd forgotten to bring her the obvious.

"I…." She's stays silent unable to decide.

She suddenly hears the familiar sound of heeled footsteps coming towards her.

She feels Regina grasp her hand through the steel bars and firmly look at her, letting go instantly and take hold of the bars instead.

She sees her mother gently press her forehead tiredly against the bars.

"Emma, my love please."

"Regina how could you ask me to…"

"Please go, and… the white sheets, those white bed sheets that were once… bring it to me, it's all I really need to help the days go on faster."

"I.." Emma is speechless, unable to stop herself from debating.

"It did the trick before." She hears Regina add, immediately making her chest ache and undeniably convincing her to quickly please the woman she loved.

…

David can see his daughter's eyes glisten with unshed tears, Regina already convincing her to leave her be.

But seeing Emma in so much pain, seeing his daughter in so much ache, he just… he couldn't stand it no matter how desperately he wanted Emma's time all to themselves.

"Snow and I can go." He walks towards the deer caught in the headlights that was now how daughter.

"We made a deal didn't we." He smiles, a smile he'd only ever given his mother and wife.

"David…" Emma rubs her eyes quickly and eagerly walks towards the office desk nearby.

She grabs a hold of something he had seen graham place down on the desk as soon as they'd walk into this place.

"Take this." She throws in softly into his hands.

"It's a sheriffs badge, people will listen to you more once you have it on you." She smiles genuinely.

"Yeah, alright." His eyes begin to dampen; feeling like everything would be okay between them after all.

"Snow lets go, I think they both need some time alone."

"Charming but…" He places his lips on hers sweetly.

"It's okay, she will always be _our_ daughter, and remember… good always wins." He winks sincerely, encouraging her to relax her heart and to trust him.

"What else will you need." Snows adds, that strong hopeful smile he fell in love with present again.

"You'll find everything you need in the kitchen to the left of the entrance and… upstairs, second room passed Emma's…" Regina's undeniable low voice partially responds.

"The white sheets on her bed." Emma finishes.

"Got it Emma." He hears his wife almost ignore Regina and stares adoringly at our daughter instead.

"Hey!" Emma stops them before they could step outside the station.

"Be safe you two."

"You to honey." They both say in unison as they painfully leave their daughter behind.

…..

It was Regina and her alone again; she slowly turns to face her, the words already coming out her lips.

"Regina, why were you trying to,"

"Graham," she cuts her off sharply.

"Why did you want to be sheriff Emma?" her mother suddenly asks, so sudden, so…

"You know why." She can feel her knuckles turn white.

"You don't get to ask me that, not when..."

"When I won't love you the way you want me too?" Regina's finishes, her low and stern voice instantly making her heart ache and feel the fire, slightly making her tremble under her stare.

Emma is now silent, unable to push further, unable to complicate things further for this woman she loved so painfully clear.

"Graham." It was Emma's turn to say his name, her chance too…

"Did you ever love him." Her fists tighten more than before, ready to say more than she ever had before.


	38. Chapter 38

**This was where her child was kept, their princess…**

Where Emma said her first word, where Emma took her first steps, where Emma was… raised.

The one thing Snow could never imagine her evil stepmother to do, is what effectively killed her, what destroyed her inside. The one thing that she thought the evil queen could never take from her. Yes, she could have killed them both, could have cursed them all to an endless sleep of fire and pain, but this… this was a true hell.

Regina stole her child and took away something that could never be returned.

She'd never experience what it was to watch her daughter grow, she'd never know… never know why it was that Emma left, why? Was she tortured, had her child suffered under the hands of this cruel, cruel woman. This woman she had to avoid for the sake of her now grown child's happiness? And If happiness truly was what Emma felt, she'd never know if it was a kind of spell, or a false memory… Emma could have been cursed as well couldn't she?

She would never know.

unless…

"Honey it's…" her husband had placed his hand on her shoulder, all the items they needed to take already in a duffle bag in hand.

He'd stopped and calmed her, always at the right moment, saving her from sleeping curses and this nightmare.

"Honey it's Emma's room…" he whispered, tears already visible in both their eyes.

Both their feet slowly yet eagerly stepping their first footsteps into Emma's room, a room that was so close to them, for such a long time.

"So close."

She could not help but repeat that painful thought amongst them both.

She could hear Charming drop the duffle bag and walk towards the red flannel printed bed sheets.

Had Regina never changed these sheets? They were so, so child like.

She shook her head to avoid any awareness that the Regina just might have cared, because if she did it'd make this harder.

As Charming laid himself on the bed and closed his eyes to feel what was His daughters childhood bed, Snow did the only thing she could not stop thinking about.

She would never know.

She would never know unless…

**….**

His heart felt full and in pain, if that was possible.

He could almost feel his little girl in his arms, he could almost feel...

"WHAT ARE YOU?" He was harshly cut off by the sound of a loud thud, and snow urgently rummaging through their daughter drawers, her clothes, her books, her everything.

"Charming I have to know." His wife spoke, crying a new.

"Snow there is nothing we can…" he began to say, admitting to himself just a few minutes ago that his daughter loved the evil queen, and he had to accept that, he had to accept what made his daughter happy, because he wasn't wasting anymore time with her. He wasn't pushing her away.

"She won't know." Snow answers, already noticing his concerns.

"This won't hurt her." as if Snow knew what he was thinking, like she always somehow did.

"We have to find out charming… we have to know if our daughter was cursed or not." He stays silent, not ready to acknowledge that Snow might be right.

"Why did she runaway all those years ago Charming, why?" her voice trembles with fear.

Before he can respond, she continues to rummage, eager to fight back and take what is hers. He could see it, Snow wasn't going to let this go, she wasn't a quitter… she was after all a fierce bandit with a true heart, that heart he would always follow.

He grabs her hand, stopping her line of fire.

Her eyes grow wide, the bags apparent as if she hadn't slept in days.

"You won't do this alone, I'm here Snow." He smiles, calming her instantly.

**….**

After a few more minutes of searching she found it.

She found it, she found Emma's...

"Is that some kind of spell book?" Her husband stands behind her, unsure of what she'd found.

It had been in the chest, the chest with so many of Emma's precious things. The journal, the one Emma kept so secret at the library. She opened the first couple of pages and stopped impatiently where she could. They both glanced and read the first words their eyes could see.

**_"Mom went out with Graham tonight, she went on a DATE!"_**

Yet having this in her hands, eager to read what else she could find, charming stops her, his hand caressing hers to close the book.

"It's her diary my love, our child's memory's…"

"Whatever it may be Snow, I'm afraid we have to go… it's been to long." He regretfully speaks, the duffle bag already on his shoulder.

She knew he was right, Regina didn't curse them because they were careless… she was after all the evilest of them all, she had brains, and that is something they couldn't take lightly. EVER.

She possessively takes the valuable book and places it in her coat, nearest to her heart, a place the queen would never get to again.

**…..**

"That night, that night you went on a date…"

She couldn't stop, she wouldn't. All her memories, all her unspoken words, the drive in her was unstoppable. She'd survived the streets, made a home for Neal and her both, she even had a field of expertise, one that taught her not to give up till you had the bastards stopped and handled.

Regina was never an exception, and had she'd been this experienced then so much could have been different.

"It was all a sham Emma." Regina answers with no caution, ready to end anything remotely dreadful from their past, surely.

"A… a what?" Her fists unconsciously clench, her jaw immediately mimicking her hands. The drive, her experience slightly affected by her emotions.

"You were a child, their was, their was a mad man on the lose, he wanted to hurt me, he wanted to hurt you…"

"It was a WHAT?" Emma questioned louder, the frustration inevitable.

"Emma you were a child, Graham was the town Sheriff, who else was going to help me stop Sidney… he was."

"He was your mirror…" Emma's eyes closed, processing all the facts she wishes she'd known. And just when she thought she could handle all the lies, more followed suit.

She could hear Regina cough uncomfortably, but it surprisingly didn't stop the once fierce Mayor to continue.

"Yes, my mirror Sheriff." She smartly adds, her comfort gone, her defenses up, her once fearful words now smug and…

"Damn it." She mumbles.

Even now, Regina's hurtful words did things to her, but she wouldn't let her, she wouldn't become that 12-year-old scared little girl again. That girl was gone. She was Emma Swan now, she was the towns Sheriff and no one; not even Regina would hold her down.

"Tell me Madam Mayor, why not tell me after, why let me believe you were with him." She fires back, her words not able to hold the tease in them.

"YOU WERE A CHILD EMMA, WHAT MORE DO I…"

"AND I LOVED YOU!" she yells back, her teasing voice no longer there.

No longer there and now silence.

And more silence.

"Well that, I didn't… umm." Regina tries to break it, but she seems to find her hands more interesting, unable to stop them from holding her stomach in place.

"I'm sorry Regina that was unnecessary and…"

…

Since when had she gotten so used to her name coming from _Emma's _mouth?

"It's mother Emma." She corrects her, unnecessarily. She just needed something to avoid that unforgettable subject.

"Unless you'd prefer Madam Mayor." She smiles kindly, obviously daring Emma to try it.

"Regina stop I just…" Emma reacts, the fire gone, she hit something and she regretfully takes it back.

"You left Emma, that night not even a week after my release… you left."

She tells her. There is no lie, no cover-ups, and nothing else to tell.

"Shit."

Emma turns around and begins to walk away, finding the desk nearest to her… and she not able to follow, the steel bars holding her back.

**…**

She throws the nearest object she can find, a stack of paperwork on the desk nearest to her.

Regina had raised her; throwing things seemed to help them both now and days.

She can see Regina look down, somber. But than look straight back up and ready to fix any problem she might have.

"Is that the way you want to treat your new office Ms. Swan?" She pokes, an understanding smile holding her stable, her hands unable.

She smiles to herself, ready to end this conversation, ready to heal and see what is next in their chapter.

She picks up what she can and places the papers back on the desk.

"Your wish is my command Madam Mayor." She winks in return, causing Regina's lips to form an o and an animated blink on repeat.

But before either of them can respond and explore this new game, Mary Margaret and David had returned.

"We got what you've asked for honey." Snow is the first to talk.

"Yeah and… whoa what happened here?" David adds, his detective like eyes analyzing the papers on the ground.

"Someone tried to get it and Emma scared them off." Regina interrupts, looking at Emma, telling her quietly that not everything needed to be shared.

"Probably one of the dwarves." Emma shrugs, informing Snow and not missing a chance to make Regina grin in her cell.

"Oh, well… I think it's time your father and I talk to those _dwarves_ and." Snow begins to explain.

"And tell them to stand down, and we can decide on what to do next." David helps her finish.

"Yes, and maybe soon Emma we can.." Snow adds.

"Eventually yes, we can do that." She looks at them both trying her hardest to genuinely smile, because in her mind all that mattered right now is that blazer-wearing woman in the cell.

That and _NEAL!_

"Oh gosh, Neal… Regina we have to."

"Neal?" Snow questions, both her parents eyes questioning, they were part of her life now. They wanted to know, she could give them at least that.

"Emma's boyf…." Regina wants to tell them.

"He's my best friend, and I love him… he's one of the reasons I made it out there on my own." She wouldn't go down that path again.

"Is he your boyfriend Emma?" Snow's eyes are a mix between gloominess and happiness? Possibly for missing her child's "first love" but she'd never guess who…

"NO! He's like a brother and, and right now he's In a coma that was my fault and I need to, he needs to be with us, I must go see him and make sure…"

"Go!" David pushes kindly.

"I will stay here with Regina and you can…" he tries again.

"I don't know if I can do…" she is cut off by a warm low voice that was this stranger of a man that she somehow felt she'd known always.

"I was a King and a swordsman back home Emma, she will be okay I promise."

And just like that she knew, she knew she could trust him, or at least rush to the hospital and come straight back.

"OKAY, Snow you and I can go talk to these people you call your friends and then we go straight to the hospital and back here."

She wasn't questioning anyone; she was planning.

She glances one last longing time at her, and grabs the radio's close by.

"David take one, IF ANYTHING OR ANYONE come near my mother you call me."

"You got it Sheriff." He squeezes her shoulder firmly.

"Snow, lets go stop this mess."

**…**

Her throat tightens, and her heart begins to heal. Her daughter and her alone together, ready to fix this mess.

"I'm right behind you Emma." She responds supportively.

They would surely stop this mess, Emma, Charming and her.

She taps an object in her coat and squeezes what she and David only know.

"We will stop this mess."


	39. Chapter 39

**He knew what they'd want. **

**Even before they knew themselves.**

Oh, how he'd missed this knowledge. How he'd missed being the dark one and having the upper hand.

He giggled to no one.

It was almost delightful how in his case, it truly was comedic not knowing you'd missed something you never knew you had until gone. But now, now everything was clear.

He had Baelfire, and he had Belle.

His sweet Belle he thought he'd lost forever now safe and in his magically sealed shop, waiting.

He had power.

He snickered once more, unable to contain his excitement.

He'd have what he'd been training Regina for all those years ago, the aftermath of the curse.

He'd have his son; awake and well, his Belle safe and sound, and all three would leave this eye rolling quaint of a town, and seize to exist in the eyes of all these undeserving people.

He had Belle, he had Baelfire, and he had power.

And right now, in this room, his hand tangled in his sleeping son's; he'd wait.

Because it wasn't long now before dear old Snow would show up and give him the key ingredient to his plans.

It wasn't long now before she walked right past his son's hospital room doors and…

**….**

"Well hello their dearies." They are both greeted with the sight of a smiling dark one hands in lap.

How did he always seem to be expecting them? It wasn't long ago that she could remember Charming and her going to this two faced man for help.

"Gold, we won't leave this town without Neal." Emma beat her to the punch; her daughter really did love this man.

A brother she'd said, but what if…

Had she missed it all, Emma's first love, the endless talks about boys, first kisses and possible courting's?

"It seems to me Ms. Swan that you are under the impression that I will willingly let you take him with you?"

"In New York Mr. Gold all we needed was two fists and…" She can see Emma begin to stomp towards the wicked man and his son's sleeping form.

"Emma stop!" Her pixy body moves itself in front of Emma, covering her of any harm and gently pushing her a few steps back towards where they'd been prior; close enough to negotiate, far enough to be unharmed.

She side glances and gently warns Emma.

"Regina wasn't the only one we feared in the Enchanted Forest Emma."

"I'm not scared of her, and I am sure as hell not scared of this guy."

Emma begins again.

"I never was." Emma mumbles.

Snow cannot help but pause, longing to know what Emma meant by her never being scared of him.

"Oh yes... the savior, the queens undoing, the queens knight in shinning..."

"She's my mother." Emma shoots back, and already pushing her gently out of the way in warning.

"Emma, please…" She turns and gives her a nod full of assurance.

"You don't ever want to get this man angry or worse… make a deal with him."

If Emma didn't know anything about them or the enchanted forest, this was definitely one of the first things she'd teach her daughter.

"Ah, a deal." This makes Rumple stand, a cane no longer necessary.

"No deals!" Her daughter listens, no fear evident. She truly was Charming's daughter, so brave.

"Oh no Ms. Swan, you misunderstand me." He kindly responds, no anger visible.

"There can be no deals involving my son, but as for YOU, Snow White… I can make an exception on deals."

He ignores Emma and turns to my now shaken state.

He knows.

"Emma this wasn't a good idea." Her daughter cannot know.

"We will find a way, our family always does." She grips Emma's hand and leads her to the door.

"But Mary Margaret I…" Emma begins to question.

"YOU DON'T EVER WANT HIS HELP." She repeats.

**…**

Emma remembers Regina; she remembers their banter in the cellar. This man, this Rumpelstiltskin hurt them both, he hurt both her mo-mothers... She wasn't going to let that go away, she'd get to the bottom of it all. As soon as Regina and her are able to… are able to just get back on track.

"Okay Snow I…" she's cut off by an eager woman, one she'd only seen in that book, Snow White.

"We will find a way Emma, I promise you this. Charming and I… we will talk to the villagers and we will fight for Regina to stay out of those bars and in her home. Then we can… then you can be safe and we can… be together again. "

"Mary Margaret…" She cannot help but squeeze her shoulder in appreciation.

"Thank you." She whispers, as if they were both in her old school library, a place that was both their safe havens.

"Always Emma, I will always be there." Snow smiles, making her heart feel what it'd felt before she knew the truth; she could trust this woman, she didn't know why but she could trust her.

It was in their blood all along.

**….**

After a quick moment of much needed silence she'd go, she'd go fight for what her and Charming believed in, the truth.

"I'm just going to go to the restroom and freshen up from this whole ordeal we've just dealt with, you can wait for me in the car and call Regi… your mother."

She smiles kindly, reassuring Emma there was nothing else that needed to be done in this hospital, nothing that Emma had to deal with.

"Actually Mary Margaret, Regina is fine… I, I mean whatever makes you comfortable, I'd understand." Emma smiles kindly in return.

She had to hurry this up before she had any second thoughts; she had to know if Emma's truth was Emma's… truth.

"No, no, It's okay Emma, I know how much it means to you, now go to her, I'll be outside in just a few."

"Yeah, okay you're right, I'll be in the car." Emma responds, her assertiveness present again.

And as soon as her daughter stepped in that elevator her feet stomped and made their way back to the room she'd eagerly rushed her daughter out of.

"AH! Just who I was expecting." Rumple sat legs crossed, surely waiting for her to return.

"I came here to…" He cuts her off before she can begin to explain.

"Are you sure precious little Emma won't mind this Dearie?" He plays with his hands, something that'd always send her over the edge.

"After all you did just get your family back." He waits for her to fight, but she didn't dare, not now that she was so close.

"We just want to know if Regina could be trusted, you of all people should understand, you just got your son back and wouldn't you do anything to…"

"Ah, ah, ah." He waves his finger in disagreement.

"I have no business with you or Regina, my business is with him and him only." He grabs his unconscious sons hand and glares.

"You see dearie I need you to help me with my boy, and I will help you in whatever it is YOU need."

"We both knew it wasn't going to be free, what could you possibly need our help with?" She pushes, her voice already dripping with dread.

"You want your daughter back, you want Emma's truth, you want to take back what Regina stole; sooo many memories. " He humorously pouts.

"I DO." She responds anxiously.

"Your hair dearie." He continues.

"My what?"

"Just a strand off that pretty little head of yours and you can have all of these things." He smiles excitedly.

She remains silent, not sure if this was ever a good idea to begin with.

"What for?" She questions, unable to contain the fear of him having something of hers in his possession.

"That is for I and I alone to know." He wiggles his fingers waving her question off.

"I…," she presses the journal tightly into her chest, this was dangerous.

"I tell you what Dearie, I will give you 3 days, 3 days to read that little book you have there, read your daughters memories, the one's you weren't a part of, and when you are ready; because you will be ready. I will give you…" She can see a puff of smoke and a paper now in his hand.

"This little spell right here to give you what you want."

"I think we both know you and spells are no good." She steps back as if to run.

"Ah, the dark curse yes… but this my dear is your wish, think of it as a way to get a new start with Charming and your daughter, a new beginning." he nods with assurance.

She can feel her chest squeeze, like her daughters journal in her hands, the journal she'd always wondered so much about when Emma had been a child in her care.

She lets out what she could not contain, a tear for what could have been such a different memory for Emma and her.

"I'm leaving, I won't hurt our family, and I wont make any deals."

She runs out, hoping Emma doesn't suspect a thing.

She runs so quickly that she does not catch Rumple's all to knowing predictions.

"3 days."


	40. Chapter 40

"_**Mother doesn't like him, she never has." **_

Snow looked through the pages, searching quickly for his name.

"**Mr. Gold, I think he might have done something to her." **

She'd explained everything to David as soon as they'd returned to her loft, their loft.

They'd had a meeting with as many people that they could gather, and were on a mission to spread the word. Regina was safe for now, but most importantly Emma was safe for now. Because if there were something Charming and her could not deny, it was that Emma would do anything to protect Regina; the women they _still_ all knew as the Evil Queen.

This women who'd been their Mayor, a mother and a frien…

For her daughters sake, she hoped that whatever Emma saw in Regina was true, that whatever she saw before the curse broke was not part of it all, part of the lies, part of the darkness that she'd known was her Evil Stepmother.

A very small part of her hoped Regina was the Regina she'd met so long ago, the one who saved her from that galloping horse. But even so… especially after all this, she'd long given up on believing that woman still existed.

"Charming it's here, this is where she mentions Rumple!"

They both eagerly read the few sentences that had all the information they needed to decide.

"Snow, she wanted to protect her from Mr. Gold." Charming warmly smiles, making her feel what no one in this realm or their own could ever make her feel; he was her home.

"She really is your daughter David, so valiant." She smiles back at him, closing the book, not needing to read any further.

"And like you Snow, she's overprotective of the one's she loves; a fighter." He kisses her forehead, pulling her closer to his chest.

"Yes and that's why, that's why we need to protect her Charming." She kisses his hand, no more uncertainty present in her mind.

"Mr. Gold, he has power over all of us, even Regina. But right now, he is expecting us to go back to him, and we… we are going to give him what he wants."

She suddenly feels David grab her shoulders gently, his eyes looking into hers.

"Are you sure about this?" he whispers as if someone were in the room.

"She got it from us both David. Emma protects with all her heart, not caring what may or may not happen to her."

He nods in agreement.

"We won't do anything to hurt her, and we won't fear the consequences… he wants a lock of my hair, and I won't put myself before Emma, not… not again."

"Whatever he may do with that lock of hair, it does not matter; it's for her safety." She repeats in her head and aloud.

He stands up lifting her by her arm on his way up; squeezing her into him once more.

"We have to promise Snow, we have to promise that whatever it is that Rumple will give us, we have to promise NOT to use it until we truly know Regina's truth." He holds her tighter.

"Good always wins David, we won't do anything that will hurt our daughter. It will be our back up, our only way to make sure we won't lose her again. "

He kisses her head gently.

"Our backup." He nods; putting on a leather jacket he'd taken from the station, car keys already in hand.

"I'm kind of glad I know how to drive in this realm." He tries to lighten the mood, something he could so easily do with his smile.

"I'm glad I can too." She walks past him snatching the keys from his hand.

"Now, let's go fight for our family." She smiles eagerly, all fear gone.

…

"Emma, are you sure about this?" Regina questions for the second time that day.

"Am I sure about ordering a cheeseburger for breakfast?" Emma grins, a hint of humor easing her tense shoulders.

"You eat like a child." She teases, loving the way Emma smiles in return. Emma still loved Granny's too; something she wouldn't admit out loud but it made her happy.

Being here, at Granny's like before…

Regina can feel the tension in her hand release her purse suddenly, her shoulders at ease, quite the opposite of when they'd first stepped foot outside her home; their home.

"No but really Regina, it's been 3 days and…" Emma tries her best to make her feel comfortable, something only Emma could really ever make her feel; in this realm or any for that matter.

"And everyone looks at me as if though they are ready to use their…"

They are suddenly cut off by the one person she didn't mind showing her face too.

"Torches and Pitchforks?" the loud and proud wolf girl says all to knowingly.

"Yes Ruby, thank you dear." She smiles warmly, a real smile.

"They are not going to do anything to you." Emma is practically standing, her bottom no longer sitting on the cushioned seat; so cute and eager, such an overprotective Sheriff; the knight that she'd always been as a child.

"It's okay honey, as long as I have you by my side." She places her hand on Emma's hand; causing a slight flinch from the now much older women she'd called her child.

"Awe, is that a blush?" Ruby squeezes her pen and ordering notepad against her chest, making Emma retract her hand away and point accusingly back at the wide grinned waitress she called her friend.

"I am not blushing Ruby, I simply…" Emma begins to protest.

"I know, I know, you aren't a little kid anymore, blah, blah." Ruby rolls her eyes mockingly, followed by a sharp toothy-lipped smile.

Regina cannot help but cover her mouth, not daring to let a chuckle escape her perfectly painted red lips.

Emma was a woman now, a gorgeous strong stranger, but this… the teasing? It was a side she was so very delighted to see, because no matter what age, her child was still there and she was as shy as ever.

"She's our town Sheriff Ruby and I'll take my coffee dark and your breakfast special, please." She gives Ruby a quick knock it off nod and lop sided smile.

"Ah, yes. And A Burger special for the Sherriff, gotcha!" Ruby winks in response.

….

Emma remains silent, straightening herself out, ignoring any embarrassing residue this lady just caused her in front of Regina. It was bad enough getting her period in front of her at age 11, but this… she's an adult woman doing her job and…

"Emma, are you okay?" Regina says, her voice clear of all teasing.

"Huh?" she responds blankly, her butt back on the comfortable cushioned seat.

"I'm sorry about that, we know you aren't child you know?" She smiles reassuringly.

And yes, she did know she wasn't _THAT_ child anymore but a good tease always made her a bit of a red-cheeked moron, and Regina… some things will never change; one sweet gesture and she was goo. Something's never change, they probably never will and she realized this as soon as her lips had attached onto hers the day the curse broke.

She wouldn't hold back, but for now… this would do.

"And you know you are not an Evil Queen anymore, right?" She smartly responds, hoping that this would assure Regina further that they'd both be okay.

Regina remains silent, smiling in understanding but probably not believing a word she said.

"So, does this mean magic training after breakfast?" She eagerly cuts off any doubts that may have remained.

…

"Oh, Emma your lesson!" She responds, almost forgetting what she'd advised Emma they do in the first place the day Rumple refused to give Emma back her _dear _old friend.

"Well that's the most excited I've seen you all day." Emma takes a bite from a French fry, their plates just getting there.

"Excited?" She arches an eyebrow, and takes a sip from her dark coffee. She'd really need the caffeine now. She wasn't going easy on her.

"Trust me Sherriff, there is nothing exciting about magic lessons."

"I mean if I can throw a bastard like Sydney out the window as a kid, how bad can it be? " Emma responds, suddenly eating her burger a tad bit aggressive.

"Slow down darling." She places her hand near hers.

"That's in the past and…" She looks down swallowing what she really wanted to say… that someone almost harmed Emma as well. What did he… what did that dead bastard do? But anger was not something she needed to show right now, at least not in front of all these hostile people.

"The burger isn't going anywhere." She smiles, saving the question for a more intimate time.

"Now, let's finish breakfast so we can start those _easy_ magic lessons yes?"

"Yes Madam Mayor, your wish is my command." Emma jokingly bows, no worry evident, and to that Regina smiled back, she really thought she'd go easy on her didn't she?

…**.. **

"Are you kidding me right now? What language is this…Spanish?" Emma stared blankly at the pages in front of her. It was a book Regina had given her when they'd first gotten to her vault, and the only thing she'd allowed her to touch down here.

"We're not making Tapas. We're making magic. It's Elvish. Well, Half Elvish. "

Regina answered calmly, as if it were of second nature to her.

Is this what that man taught her mother, how to read?

"I'm never going to get this. Is this how Rumple taught you? Just think about your training. What other methods did he use?" She was not giving up; she just didn't see the point in learning all this, when she could so easily…

"Rumple was a bully. He didn't suffer fools, and he certainly didn't coddle his students. And if he tried to teach you how to swim and you couldn't learn, you drowned."

Regina responds, an impatient yet almost sad expression now present.

"Drowned?" She asks; hating to imagine what Rumple could have possibly done to teach Regina the things he taught her.

"That's it!" Regina places her books down and begins to remove her gloves.

"That's what?" But before she could think another thought, the air beneath her shifts and…

…**.**

"Are you out of your mind?!" Emma screams.

Regina ignores Emma's frightened expression; there was no room for her to worry as well, Emma had to do this.

Regina stood safely on the edge of Storybrooke's highest cliff, while Emma stood in the middle of a very fragile bridge that connected the two mountain like structures. She could see Emma holding on tightly to the ropes; the only thing keeping her steady on the swaying rusted bridge.

"Every time you've exhibited your power, it's been spurred by your instincts. So today, we're going to push those instincts until you master them."

"A little reading doesn't sound so bad now." She smiles cheekily, her nerves quickly replacing it back to her nervous expression.

"You can stop me." Regina tries to calm her.

"Stop you from what?" Emma's voice goes up an octave, her usual calm and assertive body language unseen.

"This."

Suddenly the ropes on the unsteady bridge begin to snap and dismantle the bridge underneath her tight grip.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Her eyes grow wide, and Regina hated it but knew that this was the only way she could accomplish her point without having Emma stubbornly interrupt her.

"Making the bridge collapse. You can either stop it… or die."

"Regina, enough!" Emma's fire had come back, and that's what Regina needed her to do.

"Stop this!" but as quickly as the fire came, it was gone… heights were never Emma's strong suit as a child, and she knew this.

But she wasn't going to let Emma put out the heat, that captivating fire.

"No you stop it, no more hand holding, you said you wanted to be an adult, you said you didn't want to be a child, now show me!"

…

She wasn't a child and even then… her feelings for Regina were never childish.

"Now, reach into your gut, you know you can do this, it's inside you Emma. Save the bridge, save yourself." Regina's stern voice slips into her ears.

She'd done it so many times before, when Regina wasn't safe, when her mother might have been in trouble. She would protect her always; love Regina always, no matter what or who would get in the way, even when it was herself at times. She needed this fire in her to be there and stay there, no hiding, always present… she would do this, and she would…

But before Emma could react…

_SNAP!_

She is suddenly falling and the last thing she could see is Regina's mortified face, her feet stepping as close to the edge as possible and…

"Ahhh!"

There was a light, a warmth, Regina's eyes… her heart pounded, her heart was on fire and then suddenly her feet touched the ground, and the ground moved forward and upwards towards what she was seeking.

She was levitating on the broken pieces of wood.

"Did I… Did I just do that?"

She can see Regina clench her eyes and push back any tears that were threatening to fall.

"Yes. When all I wanted you to do is retie the rope." She could see Regina clench her jaw and look down disappointingly.

"It was like you said instinct. Every time I was scared or I needed to protect you…"

Regina looks up at her surprised.

"Wait, why are you pissed? I did it. What does it matter how?"

"You think I'm mad because you didn't listen to me? I'm mad because… look at all this potential inside of you, and... You've been wasting it." She can clearly see a tear caress Regina's face.

"Wasting it?" She has to ask.

"You could have, you could have protected yourself Emma. Instead you've wasted all of it on me, I did not matter… your safety did. What the hell did he do to you?!"

Emma now stood beside her, no motion, and no response.

"If only you'd stayed in this town, you could have… that man Noah, what did he do to you? I cannot even think about… I need you to be the strongest one here Emma, I need you to stay safe always and… What if somehow these peasants separate us? What if I am not there, the way I wasn't there when you'd ran away… none of that would have happened to you, it could have been avoided, the pain."

"I know." She mutters, still unable to move.

"You know?" Regina asks confused.

"Graham told me what you did, he said I was selfish… that you were doing so much for me, that I needed to come back." She cannot help but look down ashamed.

"What… I…Did?" Regina repeats her words, her tears turning silent.

"You killed Noah." She says out loud and unaffected.

"You aren't disgusted? I, I killed a man…" She can see Regina turn away slightly, unable to look into her eyes.

She reaches for her chin and gently nudges it to face her.

"And I killed Sydney, what's the difference?"

"That was an accident, you didn't mean to…" Regina's eyes are wide and confused.

"I'd do it again if it meant protecting you."

"Emma it's not the same…" Regina smiles knowingly.

"You killed somebody who hurt a child, there is nothing wrong with that and no matter what you say…" but before she could finish protesting, Regina asked again, what she least wanted Regina to know.

"What did he do to you Emma? "

"It really wasn't that big of a…" She quickly puts her hands in her vests jacket, unable to keep a straight posture.

"Tell me what he did, please… I should have been there I…"

"Regina, please do not blame any of that… " She stops herself, letting out a sigh.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you." She knew as soon as Regina had confessed that she'd blamed herself there was no avoiding it. She would not let Regina go through anymore of those painful questions she'd held on to for so long.

"He didn't get to far, something inside me…" And again she's cut off, leaving Regina silent and gripping her coats sleeves.

"Emma?!" it was Mary Margaret and David.

"What are you two doing here?" Emma asks, not able to look at Regina's now stoic face.

"We couldn't find you and we thought…" They thought Regina had taken her from them.

"I'm fine." She smiles kindly, assuring them that they were both fine.

"But the bridge?" Snow points to the wreck behind them.

"It was a magic lesson and…"

"A magic lesson? Emma are you sure you want to…" Snow begins to protest but Emma refuses to discuss this further in front of Regina.

"Can we actually talk about this later Mary Margaret?" She sounds a tad bit harsh, she knows it… but right now Regina and her needed to get home and finish this long overdue conversation.

"Later… yes off course." Snow looks down.

"Regina and I just really need to rest right now, we've had a really tiresome lesson and we were just about to head back home." Emma tries her best to leave them on a kinder note.

Regina remains quiet, there was no need for her to interfere and she sure as hell had nothing to do with this family matter, they'd make sure of it surely.

"Home, oh yes how could I… " Snow mutters.

"You know Emma, you can always stay at the loft… there is nothing Snow and I wouldn't give to spend a little bit of…" David begins to offer.

"This Saturday, dinner at your place, deal!" Emma quickly grabs Regina's gloved hand and puffs them both to the only place where all their secrets have been kept safe.

"Are those my sheets?" She hadn't noticed before, how could she have missed it.

She can see Regina flinch, but still remain silent.

"I brought us to your room because it's the one place I've always felt safe in." Emma confesses.

"Next to you." She dares.

"Emma, please talk to me." Its all Regina can say, before Emma grabs her arms and pushes her onto the all to familiar bed.

But before she can land on top of Regina's now laying form, she quickly moves next to her and places both hands on her cheeks.

"You owe me a sleepover Madam Mayor." She smiles warmly.

"I, I believe I do." Regina blinks, a gentle smile present again.

"And I believe I owe you a story." Emma warmly smiles back, they were ready.


	41. Chapter 41

**Last night had been like a dream… **

It was as if time had never separated them.

They talked for hours.

Emma shared everything and anything that Regina questioned. Where she'd runaway to, how she'd found shelter, how she stole, how she educated herself, her friendship with Neal, and even her first kiss with Lily.

And now, now she couldn't get it out of her head; the way Regina had flinched when she'd mentioned it. When she mentioned that kissing Lily just confirmed what she'd always known; she liked women.

But as quickly as Regina had that wounded expression, she'd quickly tried to brush it off. And Emma knew far to well what that was like.

Emma really did have a super power, especially with the woman that lay next to her, she wasn't hiding anything.

Regina had tried to lighten the mood and joke that wherever this Lily was, that she sure as hell wasn't good enough for her. That made Emma smile and pull the sheets over them both, making sure Regina felt warm and secure with her in her room and in her bed. She wanted to remind Regina that this whole journey was all because she's never loved anyone like she's loved her.

It got emotional, and it got intense explaining what had happened with Noah. But she remained strong and honest. She knew Regina needed to know, but she also knew she wasn't the only one that needed comfort that night. Regina needed it too.

When they'd finally both dosed off, Regina whispered that she'd always find Emma wherever she'd be, not letting anyone harm her ever again.

She then shut her eyes thinking the exact same thing about Regina; but still holding onto one last question… was the once mayor also a virgin? Did the king she'd read about in the book ever…

Her thoughts are suddenly cut short, her mother cutting them as she walked into Granny's Diner and right past her, Regina's heels surely making the ground as nervous as she made her.

…**.**

She walked straight through the diner's door and past anyone who'd dare look at her, she would ignore these people for her safety and their own; something they both obviously wanted either way.

"Hello, Ruby." She avoids taking a seat and goes straight to takeout.

"Hey Regina, it's always fancy seeing you here." Ruby smiles; her pen and notebook always ready.

"Kale Salad please." Regina quickly orders. Her eyebrows arching when she notices Ruby had already written her order down.

"So where is-" Ruby asks arching an eyebrow in return.

"I know it's a miracle, I've come without the towns sheriff." She shyly adds. She hadn't stepped inside this place without Emma by her side since before the curse had been broken.

Emma had made sure she didn't go out of their home without her, and after day one Regina didn't want it any other way, she'd loved the company, even though she knew they had to separate at some point. After all Emma wasn't a child any longer, and people would surely think Emma was in some kind of spell or worse….

But last night before their talk she'd insisted that Emma start making a good reputation for herself. The town's people had always loved Emma, but these "new" towns people would surely want to see what their savior had to offer.

"Pff, what miracle? Look behind you child." Granny spoke, walking past them both, plates in hand and ready to serve.

But As soon as she'd turned, Emma's hot cocoa made a loud thud and splash, immediately staining the shirt Regina had let her borrow earlier that morning.

"Shit." The badged woman cursed, her cheeks red.

She could not help but walk towards her, napkins in hand.

"Language Sheriff." She smiles reassuring.

"I, Regina, I…"

She can't help but cover her mouth; still not comfortable in letting these people hear her chuckle.

"Aren't you suppose to be at the office, ready to fight crime and what not?" She walks closer a hand now helping Emma wipe the table.

"If you call searching for Pongo and saving Figaro from a tree a crime, then done!"

"Emma…" She warns, impatiently tapping her heeled foot on the floor.

"What?" Emma looks down, but then back up, surely realizing that the stain on her shirt was still very present.

She could see Emma's cheeks burn brighter then before.

"Are you following me?" Regina asks casually.

"I, I may have considered you'd be here and hoped I'd catch you, yes." Emma responds, standing up and unbuttoning her blouse to reveal a white tank top.

Her eyes grow wide momentarily and back to a serious glare.

"How, how about you go home Sherriff, I'll excuse you for the day." She erases all thoughts and quickly says whatever is at the tip of her tongue.

"Actually Mayor, I really needed to ask you something important." Emma places her hands in her jeans back pockets, a nervous tick Regina had noticed recently.

"Off course Emma, You may ask what you'd like." She responds warmly, not being able to see the strong woman in front of her nervous any longer.

But as soon as Emma was ready to respond a uniformed dressed David walks into the diner, badge and all.

"Uh, so the people had a meeting last night without our knowledge and…"

"Sweetheart." David reaches them both, forcing her look anywhere but at the newly badged prince.

"David hey, so umm, I was telling Regina here about…"

Regina had nothing to say, this wasn't her call to make. Because; this town may have been built by her but these people, they made the calls now.

This man, he was Emma's real father and she had no say in what Emma felt for him and Mary Margaret both.

And although it pained her, she knew she was defeated as soon as Emma had attached her lips to hers, the day the curse was broken.

"There is no need to explain dear, I'd prefer it anyway, someone having your back in the field." Regina says, her hands searching for her car keys in her purse.

…**.**

"Yeah, who's going to protect me from Pongo's slobber?" Emma jokes, trying her best to make the tension between the two more bearable.

David remains silent, his attention on anything but Regina.

Emma knew they all weren't going to be best friends after only a few days, but she still wasn't sure how to feel or function around any of them when they were around each other. When Mary Margaret and him were together she could see the longing they felt to be with her, but when they were around Regina, The Mayor was almost non-existent to them, forcing her to make Regina her priority around them, just the way they are forcing them selves to smile around the woman Emma knew no one really trusted yet.

Yes, she wanted to get to know them, they were after all her blood and although resistant and uncomfortable, they both really tried their best to keep Regina safe, and that to her counted for something.

But could she help putting Regina first? No. She could never. Regina has always and would always be before them, Regina never would have abandoned her, she would have found a way… but also, she didn't feel quite the same way about her parents and Regina. It was after all altogether another kind of love.

"Kale Salad and a bottled water?!" Granny called out.

Regina turned around abruptly, and quickly walked away to grab her takeout.

"So I guess it's settled?" David spoke, trying to make Emma smile but unable to make her remove her eyes away from the object that made him uneasy in the first place.

"Yeah uh, I'm actually heading home now so I'll see you Saturday Sherriff Nolan?" Emma pats him hard on the shoulder, not giving him time to protest.

"See you Saturday Emma." She could hear him say behind her as she walked behind Regina grabbing the take out bag for her.

"I'll walk you to the Benz." She insists.

"But David…" Regina questions, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Weren't you the one who told me I am officially off duty and should head home?" She mumbles in Regina's ear, causing her to walk faster and straight out of the diner.

"I'll take that Sherriff." Regina snatches the takeout bag back and provokingly grins and winks, letting Emma know that was so obviously teasing.

She opens her cars door and before Emma can protest Regina gets inside and shuts the heavy black door.

"Hey!" She almost pouts but instead folds her arms mocking anger.

Regina rolls down her tinted window and pulls Emma's arm towards her, sending Emma directly in front of her.

"Whoa." She cannot help but suddenly feel nervous by her mother's assertiveness.

"I'll see you at home in a few yes? Maybe we can have a lovely dinner and…"

"And another sleepover?" Emma whispers more to herself then Regina, almost as if to make a wish.

"That sounds lovely, yes." Regina whispers back, letting go of Emma's sweated hand.

And just like that, Emma's world freezes, her wish coming true, but before she can ask what time, the black Mercedes is already out of view.

"I guess we are having Pizza." She says to no one, the biggest smile now present.

**(At The Charming's loft.) **

"It was as if she was in a spell." David chews his dinner thoughtfully.

"I know you think I may be wrong and maybe I am David, but…" Snow responds.

"I see it too." David says, putting his fork down and pushing his plate aside.

"That was lovely Snow." He smiles sweetly, trying to ease their incoming headache.

"But we can also be very wrong, I mean she was acting fine at the station… I mean as fine as you can act when you are trying to bond with the man you suddenly found out was your father." She can see David contemplating as much as she was now.

"The truth is- the truth is Emma had always been like that as a child David." She looks down shamefully.

"I was able to see her grow up, something you didn't get to have… and if I'm honest with myself, and I hate to admit that it may be true… Emma has always loved Regina very strongly." Snow cannot help but grab her aching chest.

"But weren't you the one that said she ran away and just never came back until just recent, and for what? To break the curse?" David asked confused.

"I don't know that part of Emma's story my love, I want to… I want to connect with our daughter and ask, I don't want to go behind her back anymore, what we did recently was far more then enough." She whispers, pushing aside her plate now.

"I know." He looks down, defeated.

"Rumple surely found a way to wake up Neal and we can at least give our daughter that." She finds a reason to make them both look forward to a possible smile.

"We have the spell, we have Emma… all we need is time to talk to her and-"

"Saturday! She told me she'd see us here for dinner." He stands up quickly, all sadness replaced.

He picks up the dishes and heads to the sink.

"At least we will have her then." They both smile their backs turned away from each other but surely connected.

**(At the mansion) **

As soon as she'd walked into their home she'd smelled the Italian aroma that was pizza. Emma could never resist, unless it was a salad. She chuckles to herself.

"Where are you, Swan?" She calls her by the last name given to her when they'd found her. It was always the name Emma preferred, even though she used to pretend to feel otherwise.

Regina had brought Emma's favorite, a homemade apple pie. She'd cooked it earlier in the day, after Emma had left the house for the station.

She'd brought it to the office with her, in hopes that Emma wouldn't stumble on it before surprising her.

Before Regina could remove her coat, she was already running up the stairs with the pie in hand.

"Emma!" She called into the seemingly empty house.

"She's going to drool." She mumbled happily.

She'd gone into Emma's old room, and the guestroom but she was nowhere to be seen, until she got closer to her own. She could hear a ruckus, a few drawers shutting and closing.

"Emma?' She knocked on the door, making sure she didn't find Emma in another … situation.

But before Regina could think any further the door swung open revealing a disheveled Emma in a white tank top and underwear.

"Oh my gosh Regina I'm so sorry, I was trying to get ready before you got up here and…"

She tries her best to compose herself, not having expected Emma to be in just her underwear.

"It's, it's okay dear, and I didn't give you the time I'd be home, it's quite understandable." She responds apologetically, as if she'd done something horribly wrong.

She practically shoves the wrapped up apple pie into Emma's hands.

"Is this your famous? Oh gosh it's my favorite!" Emma is as she expected, practically drooling.

Regina's eyes quickly look down one last time, making a cough like sound in the process.

"I see you weren't done getting ready."

"Oh shit!" Emma practically tosses the pie back into her hands reaching for anything to cover her very naked thighs.

"Emma, it's…. it's okay." Regina nods, her hands waving at Emma not to worry.

"This is your home, I want you to feel comfortable." She adds.

But how could Emma ever be comfortable after what she'd caught her doing in her old bedroom, how could Emma ever feel okay to show herself after everything physical that had already happened between them.

But then Emma had never really been comfortable being remotely naked around her, especially as a teen.

"It's just, it's just embarrassing you know? I'm not a kid anymore and you've never really seen my body like that." Emma quickly responds, her denim pants already on.

It was Regina's turn to blush, something she rarely ever did, but could not deny around the savior.

"Well if you must know Sheriff, you are quite fit and there really is nothing… nothing you should be embarrassed about." She says confidently, not able to show what she was really feeling; Utter nervousness.

…**.**

She'd stopped whatever her heart was feeling at that moment and pretended she felt nothing, because if she did, she wasn't sure what would be said or done.

"How about that Pizza, it has extra cheese! Just the way you pretend to not like." She walks past her, quickly hugging her hello and kissing her cheek like she'd always done when Regina would pick her up from school.

"Emma…" She can hear Regina whisper behind her retreating footsteps.

"Pizza sounds perfect-and as of how you stay so fit, remains a question, dear." Regina says out loud behind her, making them both snicker and sweep off any tension that followed.

**(After Dinner) **

"I really don't remember these sheets being this soft when Neal and I shared them at our place." Emma hums happily, holding Regina's hand in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.

She can feel Regina's hand squeeze back in response, making her place the glass of wine on the nightstand.

"Hey, are you okay?" Emma asks, pulling Regina closer to herself.

Regina remains silent, placing her glass of wine down as well.

"Maybe if we lay down and talk for a bit…" She says and asks at the same time.

But instead of responding, she'd already had that in mind and grabs the white sheets and pulls them over them both, as if to hide them away from this town that knew them both so well.

"Talk to me." She whispers gently into Regina's ear.

"You and Neal, I know you said it was nothing but…"

And as if a light switch goes off, Emma's mouth asks what she couldn't stop thinking about in the diner earlier.

"Regina are you, are you a virgin?" She could not stop herself, she knew it was sudden and possibly rude, but Emma had told her everything about what she'd been through and what her life had been without her. And now, now she yearned to know more about the wide-eyed woman in front of her.

"Emma I don't think this is something we should…"

"Regina." She tiredly pleads, and that was all it took for her once mother to close her eyes, take a deep breath, and finally confess.

"I've been a 36 year old woman for a very long time Emma, I," she uncomfortably sits back up, removing half the sheets off her upper body and grabbing her glass of wine anew.

"The king, Leopold… Snow White's father, did he?" Regina's eyes grow wider then she'd ever seen, her mouth slightly open and terrified.

"Emma how did you…"

"Regina I'm not a child anymore, I read the book and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that your marriage was not voluntary."

"Well I guess that makes Mary Margaret an elementary school teacher after all." Regina rolls her eyes and takes a bigger sip of her wine then previously.

They are both silent, unable to continue what was to come. But there was no way to go around it, not after Regina practically confirmed what she'd regrettably suspected.

"I was 18 when my mother handed my hand to the king, I was 18 when everyone expected me to be your mother's…. mother." Regina's eyes begin to water, her teeth noticeably gritting.

Her tears threatened to fall, but she did not dare show Regina that it was tearing them both apart.

"Everyone thinks I'm the Evil Queen, that I am and always will be an evil witch with no heart and no emotions, but I… I do believe evil isn't born Emma, it's made." She looks down, her glass now empty. But before she could protest, Emma hands Regina her own glass of wine and sits up as well, her hand touching Regina's shoulder lightly, encouraging her to continue.

"I was to lay with the king the first night of our ceremony, we were husband and wife after all, and it was expected of me to make him happy. He'd lost his wife not long before we'd married and he needed to be pleased and taken care of."

And as soon as she'd said those words, Regina remained silent and unresponsive, as if she were playing a film in her head.

"Regina, come back to me." Emma inaudibly cries, unable to contain any more of it, unable to let Regina know that the truth also affected her.

"He did not force me, but I did not want it." She stops her glass from going towards her lips.

"As a laid there beneath him, his sweaty chest heavily pressing me against the fur covered floors, I silently cried."

And just like that the queen inside the woman she loved throws the glass and shatters it.

"He thrust and thrust into me, not looking at me once, not even acknowledging if I was alive or dead under him, I might as well been… dead that is. My heart had been crushed just as his body crushed my own, and from then on, I'd past the point of no return. Daniel was dead, I had nothing left… my heart had darkened."

Her heart pulled her towards the broken down woman she called her queen. She felt her heart almost darken in Regina's place, but what Regina went through could never be so easily replaced. Emma hated him; she hated the man that her blood called Grandfather. He was no one to her, and if she could she'd ride to his kingdom and defeat him herself…

She knew now, she knew that whatever the book said was just a shortened version of what really happened. Regina had not killed the king out of pure evil, it was vengeance, and it was… They'd taken everything from her; that monstrous woman Regina called a mother forced her too…

And Daniel? She didn't mean for his name to make her glower. She didn't know why but as soon as she'd said it her chest ached and her hands gripped the sheets.

"Daniel?" She asked, uncertain who this character was.

Regina angrily stands up, unable to contain all of her emotions. "They'd never mention him in that one sided book full of all my bad deeds, would they?"

"Regina?" Emma whispers, not able to contain her patience any longer.

"Daniel, Daniel was a stable boy, he was a young man my age who had offered me love and kindness, something my own mother denied me. He was my first love. But Mother would never allow a simple stable boy to court her well mannered daughter; he was my first love…" She quickly looks at Emma and smiles.

"But apparently not my truest." She laughs almost as if to curse whatever she'd meant.

"Your mother was a child who could not keep a secret if her life depended on it, I'd asked her not to tell, and then she did… that night, my mother killed Daniel right before my eyes and arranged for me to marry Leopold."

"Snow White…" Emma whispers, all realization dawning on her, all jealousy gone.

"Yes and although not justified, my hatred for her grew with the rest of the darkness inside of me. And then there was you."

Regina begins to cry, holding herself tight.

"Regina, that does not and will never matter to me." She wraps her arms behind her, enclosing Regina's body with her own.

"I… I wanted everyone around me to suffer, I… I did not care if Snow White's unborn child was part of my wrath, I didn't know…" Regina shamefully turns herself around, digging her head into Emma's chest, hiding from her searching eyes.

Although she knew the things this woman did were disastrous and unforgiving, all she knew was that the Regina she knew now, the Regina she's known always; She was not the woman they all hated, she was so much more then what these people made her out to be, and if they really tried and they really knew the truth… They'd realize that Regina was just as human as the rest of them; she was just surviving.

And even before this curse took away all their homes, before the spell took away all memories and all her wrath with it, Emma still loved the woman that was and the woman that is Regina Mills.

And the things that had been done to her, the things that changed what could have possibly been a free spirited carefree woman in Regina, those things made Emma love her no less and far more. She desired to be by her side as long as this life would let her… she'd protect her from whatever or whoever tried to harm her, she would never let Regina go through any of it ever again.

"It's okay Regina, I will never see you as they see you, as you see yourself." Emma mutters into her fallen face.

"You are no longer that Queen, you are you, and you are beautiful." She adds.

"The moment I held you Emma, the moment I felt you in my arms…" She can feel Regina take a pause as she wipes her eyes gently.

"I never thought, I never thought that I could feel again, I never thought… it all changed." Regina suddenly looks up, gazing deeply into her tear stained cheeks.

"Because of you, I lov-"

She wouldn't let her finish, and she wouldn't let her explain; right now all that mattered was…

"This." Emma whispers, her lips catching Regina's trembling one's.

**(The morning after)**

After their lips had met for a third time in their lifetime, they both fell into a trance…. She was unable to remove herself from the woman they called The Savior, from the woman who was said to be her undoing.

Emma hummed into her mouth, making her whimper in return. She couldn't push her away; she could barely imagine pulling herself away.

Emma's lips were like nothing she'd ever tasted, like nothing she'd ever felt. And as her lips continued being caressed by Emma's, her mind could barely think or protest… and this time, this time she didn't object.

It was magnetic and impossible to retreat.

They'd fallen asleep before they could stop, the night sky stroking them to into a slumber, the moonlight illuminating what only _it_ could see; that she was undeniably in love with Emma, and although still very cautious and unable to take it all in, her resilient heart wouldn't accept what her mind wanted to reject.

The Evil Queen loved Snow White's daughter.

Regina Mills loved Emma Swan.

Regina Mills had a true love.

She loved a woman she'd raised as her own; she loved a woman who'd grown to be everything the prophecy had foretold. Emma was her undoing; yes, Emma had healed her: yes, and Emma was her Happy En…

"Good morning." the woman who invaded her heart spoke, now awake.

"Good morning Emma." She cannot help but apprehensively put space between them, unsure if she should kiss Emma or keep to herself, it was all so new.

"Please, don't." Emma hums, her strong arms pulling her closer; Emma's nose now buried in her neck.

How foolish of her to think… to think she could hide this, hide this from them both.

"Last night, thank you." Emma mumbles further, her cheek caressing her own.

This child, this woman would be her ultimate demise. Whether it were her caresses or the town's people burning her at some stake if they ever found them out; Emma was surely her weakness.

"Emma." She whispers her name, the only thing she could mutter, the only thing that conquered her endless thoughts.

She begins to nuzzle her cheek against the blondes in return. They were like the moon to the waves, unable to stop the pull.

A few seconds begun to feel like forever, Emma not close enough. Regina wondered how much further into each other they could submerge. Her hand begins to unconsciously extend towards Emma's waist, but before she could place the slow moving limb onto the untouched territory, and before the uncontrollable desire could pull her closer, Emma stops them both.

…**.**

She unburies her face from Regina's neck and cups her face gently.

"I'm sorry, I just…" she was so hypnotized that she'd almost rushed what she always dreamt of taking slow.

Just this, Regina returning a simple caress, it took her breath away. It made her dream awake and although it left her breathless, she had to stop.

Because before she could continue to show any of it, any of the feelings she'd locked away, she'd know everything beyond facts, she'd know what Regina's heart needed, what it felt, truly. She wanted to love all of her, she did not want to be selfish.

Regina's mother, Snow, Rumple… She couldn't take advantage of Regina any longer; she'd hurt her just as they had. She'd put her through an endless chase, a curse. She'd abandoned her, and she made her feel alone as they had. She couldn't just put her feelings on top of this woman who had just moments ago opened up and bared everything.

She'd be patient, and take her time to bare everything in return. That included all of her questions and insecurities, because Regina deserved so much more then Emma's impulsive behavior.

Besides, knowing the woman she once called mother… She would undeniably regret anything they may have done if she'd been caught in a moment. It was something Emma knew far to well about Regina now. She'd martyr herself.

"Regina, My love, before we completely drop last nights discussion, was he, was Leopold… was that man the only one you've been with in that, in that way?" Emma swallows thickly, not really wanting to know the answer but wanting to know more of the long-lived queen she hadn't known, the one she would show was okay to be just Regina.

…

"I did many things Emma, many things that made me feel in control, and yes… sleeping with other people in power was one of them." She does not try to hide any of who she'd been. She'd never been ashamed; in fact it made her feel more powerful.

"I see." Emma whispers, her head nodding in a sort of trance.

But right now, right now it made Regina feel quite the opposite. Emma did not deserve such a pity excuse for a love-r… Emma didn't deserve what so many called the queen of darkness, a monster.

Emma was far too pure and light… but she couldn't and wouldn't lie, that was behind them both.

"It made me feel as though I could choose, that I could choose and I could control my destiny." She grabs Emma's hand and squeezes it, trying her best to not falter.

"I understand, I do." Emma nods yet again, her voice no longer a murmur.

She can feel Emma squeeze her hand in return, a sad smile suddenly appearing on the sheriff's face.

"I wouldn't let you catch me in New York, It made me feel as though I had control." Emma assures, shrugging her shoulders.

At this, Regina's eyes grow wide but she quickly composes herself.

"I thought my confession was shameful and yet here you are making me feel as though I've done nothing wrong. Emma, only you…"

"You did what anyone in your circumstance would so easily do, you aren't what those people say you are."

She was about to protest but Emma never changed, she could never lose.

"Yes, maybe you were what they say you were, but now… and maybe you'd always just been misunderstood."

And how she loved her for it.

They both remain silent, relaxing their thoughts on the white cushioned bed. And after a few minutes of understanding, she quickly gets out of bed and checks the clock in the room.

"You win for now my little knight." She smiles.

"But you lose at work, you are now late for a second time this week." Her grin turns into a laugh.

"Oh, crap!"

Emma flies out of bed and falls in the process.

"I got to go, I promised David some coffee this morning." Before Emma can make it to the door of the room, she quickly presses her lips on her cheek and runs, her pajama pants halfway down.

She touches her red flushed cheek and whispers to the empty room that once made her so miserable.

"It can't be helped, can it?"

**(At The Station) **

"I'm so sorry David, Regina and I had to…"

Emma was met with a bottled thermal and a letter placed on her desk. There was no one in the station and a few calls had been missed, most likely he'd been called for assistance.

She lifts the warm container and reads the nice cursive written note.

Emma,

I was called on duty, something about a car without air in its tire? I'm new to this but can surely be of assistance to the people. I hope everything was okay this morning? I called but there was no answer. I figured Regina needed you for something once again, so I did not mention it to your mother. She would surely not take it well. I left you some coffee and what Snow says you would like, a _bear claw. _

I will see you later today and hopefully you'll love what Snow has planned for tomorrow evening.

\- David

This man really was a man she would not mind calling a father one day, she could not help but feel sorry for being late. He had seemed so hopeful when she'd brought up meeting him the next day at the station.

She knew that when it came to Regina everyone else seemed non-existent, but they really weren't. She'd thought about Neal since she last saw him, she would visit as soon as she could. She thought about Snow and David and all the time they'd been asking from her. She just needed time to settle, she needed time with the woman she loved, the woman who till this day some people still wanted dead.

And she knew that as soon as she'd feel Regina was completely out of harms way, although she insisted she'd be fine with her magic, she would not have her being scrutinized over protecting herself.

Being Sheriff was something she dreamt about being for so long, that now that she'd become one, something she knew she could so easily accomplish. It seemed more of a necessity than a dream. It gave her a job, yes but most of all it gave her some authority to put away anyone she thought would harm her queen or any of her friends.

…**.**

The day had ended quickly; she wasn't the Mayor she once was. Although most people refused to consider her anything, some people still looked for her assistance in some of the town's paper work or electrical problems and solutions.

What used to take hours out of her day now only took a few and some of her usual sass.

There just weren't as many people she needed to work for anymore, they now had Snow white, their queen.

She almost laughed at the idea of it all, because she was certain Snow white could never compete with her in such a field, this job wasn't about rainbows and unicorns, it took a lot of work and she sure as hell wouldn't let Snow or David take over just yet. This town needed her, whether they wanted it or not.

"Someone's enjoying that apple cider a little to much." She is suddenly startled, spilling a few drops of the sweet cider on her white blouse.

"Emma!"

She gets up and tries her best to fix her now disheveled buttoned shirt.

"Regina, I'm so sorry… isn't this your favorite blouse?" Emma quickly makes her way in front of her and apologetically shakes her head.

"Ms. Swan it's fine I…"

Emma quickly begins to unbutton her collard shirt; this time Regina notices there is no tank top underneath.

"Here I'll use my shirt to..."

Regina's face quickly starts to flush red and stutters her refusal to ruin the sheriff's shirt in return. "Em- Emma it's- it's fine really."

"No it's not, I'm such an idiot sometimes." But before Emma could undo the last three buttons, Regina swishes her hand, and the stain is instantly removed and no longer a problem.

Emma stays still, her eyes unblinking.

She cannot help but look away in embarrassment, because Regina Mills did not stain herself. Emma Swan stained herself and Regina did not fluster over such a meek little gesture.

She did the gesturing.

"I really am an idiot." Emma breaks her thinking trance.

To that, she internally smiles.

All tension is gone, Emma quickly taking away all the embarrassment from her and placing it on herself. She made it to easy and for that reason, the Sheriff made her swoon.

"Must you always take off your shirt to find a solution Sheriff?" She arches her eyebrow.

"I- uh."

But as soon as Emma sees her now very present grin, she quickly buttons her shirt back up and bows her head apologetically.

"Really, Regina… I didn't mean too…"

"All is forgiven Emma, I'm just glad my klutz of a Sheriff is back home."

"HEY!" Emma shouts in return, a pout now present.

"You are the smartest Sheriff I've ever met, now, Lasagna?"

"Thank you." Emma winks, her smile present again.

"And we can-" Emma begins to ask yet for another day.

"Yes, we can have another sleep- you can stay the night with me." Regina corrects. The sleepover really was an excuse now, and she wanted Emma to know it was okay.

…**.**

They hadn't kissed last night. They'd gotten dressed for bed and crept into Regina's bed soon after.

Regina had wrapped her arms around her last night and whispered that this was her bed now, as long as she'd want it that way.

And the last thing she remembers is whispering, "Yes." in return.

They'd woken up and had breakfast at home, and spent the whole day out together. They'd stopped by the hospital to check on Neal, but got the same result as the last time she'd checked. It was now a restricted area for anyone but family. And before she could get into any fights, Regina had calmed her and promised her that they'd find a better solution to getting her friend back.

They'd strolled the woods and enjoyed the views they 'd always go to when she'd been kid.

Regina had taken her to her crypt and showed a few more tricks and confessions; the boxes full of hearts that she vowed weren't all her victims and her promise to return them once she found a spell. She'd taught her how to properly clean her shirt if she ever had another accident with her hot cocoa and how to come up with a better comeback.

As soon as they'd gotten home, they were both exhausted and ready for dinner.

"So, how about I cook for a change?"

But before Emma could hear Regina's quick-witted answer the phone rings and she suddenly realizes it's Saturday and she's forgotten once again.

She curses her heart for always stealing time.

"Mary Margaret, Hi!" She answers the phone, the caller id reminding her of her screw up.

She can see Regina swiftly turn away and begin to make some hot tea and surely hide away any expression she was showing.

"I am actually on my way out, I had a few things I needed to finish up today." She lies, not able to disappoint them yet again.

She walks towards Regina offering her a cup of the brewed tea.

"Yeah I know I'm a bit overdue with some of the stations paperwork, tell David thank you for noticing and quickly making fun of my sluggish work."

Regina smirks as she sips her cup.

"See you in a few, goodbye." She rapidly hangs up and pulls the hem of Regina's blouse towards her.

"The tea is lovely but I have too…"

"You forgot Emma, we forgot. We lost track of time and…"

Emma doesn't allow her to continue, placing a finger against her lips to stop her mouth from moving. This earns a very attractive glare from the Mayor and a very entertaining child like grumble.

"I'm serious dear, If Snow, David or anyone suspects any of it, any of this; they'd surely..."

"They won't." She kisses her cheeks softly, sipping her mug one last time.

"I'll be home soon and I will fix this, between us and between them."

She grabs her red leather jacket; the one Regina had sworn she hated but always left hung ready for Emma to wear to work.

Then she speedily heads out, her car keys in hand. But before she can jump into the bug she grabs her phone and texts what she wanted to say instead, what she would have said if Regina hadn't been worrying already.

_**I Love You.**_

…**.**

**(Charming's loft) **

"Oh wow Mary Margaret, that was fantastic." She hums with content, as she takes the last bite.

"You really think so?" She smiles wide as she collects all the plates.

"I can get that!" Emma notices and suddenly stands up to help.

"No, no, it's fine Emma, really." She smiles warmer then before.

Mary Margaret and David had not let Emma lift a single finger since she got here, she'd also insisted on helping them set up the table, but they quickly refused.

There were some things that were very different between Regina and her parents. Although she knew Snow and David just wanted her to feel at home, she wondered if they'd have spoiled her rotten as a child?

Regina always refused to pick up Emma's messes and pushed her to be independent and clean up after herself. But really Emma always did it to help her around the house, unable to see Regina work all day and get home to more work. That and… She always loved the smile and kiss she'd receive on her forehead anytime Regina acknowledged how hard she'd worked.

She could imagine Snow spoiling her rotten, and possibly making her wear crowns and shiny dresses that were made for kings and queens, the opposite of what she really wanted to wear, she was never fond of royalties. She could imagine David showing her how to sword fight and ride a horse or two…

It wasn't a bad thing, and it didn't sound half bad. But Emma wouldn't trade any of it, not if she'd loose the fairest of them all.

And besides her assumptions and her analysis, Snow and David really were some of the kindest people she'd met. And maybe, just maybe they were just being really good hosts.

However she was pretty certain that the couple that were surely as young as her, really just wanted to feel like the parents they hadn't been able to be.

It was heartwarming, and she could not help but feel something warm for them.

…**.**

After a few board games and a glass of wine or two, the wine David had suggested after a few awkward silences their daughter and they shared, Emma finally started to really talk.

"So, you're each other true love's?" Emma asks. A question that instantly made David and her smile wide.

"Oh Emma, true love…" Snow hums happily, remembering so many of Charming and hers story's.

She could feel David scoot closer to her on the loveseat and place his hand around her and gently on her shoulder, soothing her softly.

"It's magical Emma, literally." He laughs out loud, making their daughter and herself smile in return.

"Magical…" Emma hums to herself.

It did not go unnoticed to her or David, she could see David look at her and nod quietly towards her. To this Snow could not contain herself, she had already missed so much, this wasn't something she'd loose an opportunity at.

"And one day Emma, your prince will come too." She adds, raising her glass of wine reassuringly.

"Unless you've already…" David says, his tone now suspicious.

Snow slaps his leg knowing he meant the man in the hospital, Neal.

Emma's eyes grow wide; she looks around nervously as if to find something in the room. This makes them both snicker to themselves.

"He's just teasing Emma, he wants to know who Neal is and why he's caught the eye of his daughter." Snow smiles warmly and understanding.

"Oh… oh Neal." Emma replies, swigging the remaining wine in her hand.

"Do I have to interrogate this man once he's out?" David teases. They were both trying their best to ease Emma's recurring awkwardness.

"He's my best friend, and you'll love him…" They cannot help but notice Emma's sudden mood change; maybe they shouldn't have brought up the young man currently un-awoken at the moment.

"We know you haven't been able to see him recently, we are sorry to bring him up now." David apologizes.

"No it's okay, you were just curious and besides…" she suddenly smiles, making her and David eager to hear what caused such a grin.

"Regina thought the exact same thing about Neal and I… and you two took it far better then she did." Emma begins to chuckle, the first real laugh they'd heard from her all night.

Snow cannot help but feel a sting, even when Regina wasn't here, Emma still…

Regina still found a way to hurt her.

…

He could see his wife's sudden crestfallen face. So he did whatever he thought Emma wanted to hear, and although it also pained him, he wasn't letting anything stop their progress.

"I'm sure Regina did." He smiles teasingly. Regina was far worse tempered then he ever could be. And although he did mean it to be light hearted, his healing heart still felt a pang of truth; She was far more then short tempered, she split his family apart.

At this Emma smiles wide and nods in a comedic way.

"You should have seen her when she found out Snow was going to be my teacher!" She amusingly sips her newly refilled cup.

To this, Snow finally reacts.

"I can't…" She whispers behind the laughing pair.

"Snow?" David warningly asks.

But before she could muster her thoughts, Emma quickly stands and checks on her watch oblivious to Snow's whisper.

"I'm so sorry you guys, but it's passed 10 and I don't like to leave Regina alone at night for to long, she's so stubborn but…"

"Hey! It's okay Emma, we understand." David nods, quickly standing up and pulling her towards him for a hug.

Snow shakes her anger quickly and wraps her arms around the daughter she reminded herself of, was hers… and she'd wait.

"I hope we can see you again real soon for another…." He begins to add but is cut short by Snow.

"How about I walk you to the car Emma, just a little more time would be lovely." Snow squeezes Emma's hand gently.

"Off course, Mary Margaret." Emma responds happily.

"Goodnight David, see you on Monday." She adds.

"Goodnight honey." He warmly smiles, already eager to see her in a few days.

But before his wife completely walks out the door, she turns around and nods at him reassuringly.

This told him this was it, this was the moment she'd ask Emma why she'd runaway; the question that had been bothering her far longer then it had him.

…

"Emma, before you go…" she gently grabs Emma's hands in hers, as if she were a teacher consoling her once again. It's as if time had stopped and now, now it was her 12-year-old daughter she was looking at instead.

The mother in her, the teacher in her, the friendship they'd had… it was here now or never.

"Yes?" Emma pushes, concern now present.

"There is something that I've been trying to ask you since you came back, there is something I've been dying to know since you ran away." She squeezes Emma's hands reassuringly to comfort whatever she may feel.

Her daughter remains silent, surely expecting many different questions. Because when it involved Regina, or magic, it was never an easy matter.

"Why did you runaway Emma?" She whispered almost desperately.

But Emma, Emma refused to react. Instead she remained as silent as when she'd mentioned talking to her.

"And if Regina was not the reason for you leaving, why leave her? And if she was the reason, why return?" Snow's gaze became hectic, she had so many questions and she hoped to true love that it wouldn't overwhelm Emma. She knew her as a kid and a teen… any mention of Regina or her personal life would send her spiraling.

Yet still, Emma's face remained stoic.

…**..**

She'd promised Regina she'd fix this, she promised her there would be less scrutiny their way, her way.

They didn't need more doubts, and they sure as hell didn't need more worry. If Snow knew... If David knew…

It was already hard enough for them to protect Regina in the first place; she could see it in their faces. It would be long before they'd trust her again, it'd be long before Mary Margaret could forgive Regina, her once friend.

She could never tell them, at least not now. One day yes, one day she hopes Regina and her can be honest, because if that book had a lesson, it was that true love always prevailed, and if Snow and Charming were really each others true love's, they'd have to come around, and if they came around, so would all the people that followed them.

But right now, they all needed what she stole from Regina and what Regina stole from them, time.

"Mary Margaret, I can't." She looks down; she'd only ever felt ashamed for such things with Regina, especially as a child. But knowing that Snow was her real… that David and Snow were her parents, it made her feel just as bad, and spending this time with them had created further damage to her refusal.

It was Snow's turn to look down, her hands slowly letting go of her own. But she quickly looks up and holds Emma's gaze.

"When you're ready, when you can… I'm here, David and I are here." Snow's eyes

Suddenly water but she smiles instead.

"I… I have to go but I promise I'll be punctual next time." She smiles one last time, and quickly jumps in her bug and starts the engine.

As she drives away, a few blocks down she could still see Mary Margaret watching her through the rear view mirror, she could see her still longing to have more time with her, but Emma knew, she knew that when everything was safe and alright, she'd give those two the time and the answers they desired.

It pained her; it did but if what everyone was saying was true…

She was some kind of Savior, and she wouldn't stop until Regina had, until they had, their happy ending.

…**..**

She didn't think she'd miss her this much; it'd only been a few hours and she already felt all kinds of emptiness. Maybe sleeping together in the same bed hadn't been Regina's brightest idea, although it made her feel like she'd never truly slept until Emma was by her side, it had caused an instant ache now that she laid here alone.

She'd subconsciously slipped into one of her black silk robes, the one's that showed a little too much for their current situation, but before she knew what she was doing she'd already laid in bed, her sheets covering her legs.

She contemplated yet again on changing but before she could decide the door slammed open.

"Emma! How- how was dinner?"

Her voice quivered, her last thoughts making her regret her choice in clothing. But before she could worry, Emma burst into the room and climbed her way on top of her.

She could see tears in her eyes, an insecure expression.

"Emma, what happened?"

Still, Emma remained silent and suddenly clutched her legs around her body, and moved towards her open mouthed expression. She left no time for her to react as her lips found the way to close her mouth shut. She kissed her fiercely as if whatever was troubling her, her lips were the remedy.

Hey eyes grew wide but her heart pounded like thunder.

Regina's hands quickly find their way to her chest as if to push her off, but when Emma suddenly slides something gentle and wet into her mouth; her hands had a mind of their own; they refused to push Emma away and instead pulled them as deep into each other as possible.

Uncertain if it was okay or not she slips her tongue in in return, earning a sudden moan from the blonde who's body felt like fire on top of hers.

"Emma." She cannot help but call her out. Emma's moan was like nothing she'd ever heard before, it was a song… and it fueled the ever so growing fire that was inside her chest, it was uncontainable. But before her trembling hands could wander further into the sheets, she feels something warm and wet on her cheek.

It was tears, tears that if she hadn't been so caught up, if she had just contained her self; she'd questioned Emma's actions as soon as and before they'd gone this far.

"Emma?" Regina's eyes flutter open, worry and anxiety overpowering her monotone voice.

Emma remained silent, her disheveled hair and swollen lips making Regina catch her breathe and pause. But before she could continue again, the smile she loved so much appeared on the flushed teary-eyed Sheriff.

"I came rushing home…" Emma began, her hands finding their way to Regina's, her legs remaining wrapped around her waist.

"I needed to feel you, I needed to show you…. No matter how bad it hurts, no matter how much I have to fight for you, I will never stop." Her tears begin anew.

"I've loved you since you first held me, and you are undeniably my true love." She leans in and kisses her forehead.

"On my way here, all I could think was how painfully I longed to be by your side, how painful it was to not feel you near me, and how much I desired to feel more of you."

This made them both blush furiously and Regina was so very tired of hiding it.

"I've never done this before…" Emma looks away, her teeth biting her lip in embarrassment.

"And I don't want to force you like I once did…" Emma's lips begin to tremble.

How could she think she was forcing her? She, she pulled them closer, she needed to feel her as well… couldn't she see, that although it scared her, Regina wanted this too.

…**. **

"But I need you my queen, and I want you to…" She suddenly drops her head into the crook of her neck, hiding what her eyes would show.

"You want me to what Emma?" Regina whimpers into the silent room.

"Would you…" Emma lifts her face, her eyes now looking into her dark pools of fire, pleading and revealing her heart. "Would you make love to me Regina?"

"Would you, would you…." Her quivering mouth continues.

…**.**

If this is how cruel fate had been to her, if this was what destiny had planned. The Evil queen's true love was undeniably Emma Swan, the Savior. And right now, right now she didn't give a damn what her head wanted to so badly refuse. Right now, right now she couldn't, she wouldn't…

Everything Emma had felt, everything Emma feels, has always and will always be what she irrevocably feels in return and before she could muster another thought her lips part the words neither of them ever thought they'd hear.

"Yes… if you'll have me, yes…."


End file.
